Go Be That Woman!

This Mother's Day Weekend, the message of what I wrote last year still rings true in my heart, and so, I offer it here again in the hopes that it will bless and encourage you...

Mothers...the one thing we all have in common is...we all have one! Mothers come in all shapes, sizes and nationalities...some are good, some are bad, some are indifferent. Biological motherhood is not a given to all women...some cannot, some will not, some simply long to be. Some mothers are ready and some mothers are ill-prepared.

This weekend we will be celebrating Mother's Day, not the day, but the women each one of us have come through. For many of us, this will simply be a time to remember...for others of us, it will be a time to make phone calls, send flowers, buy gifts, write out cards, perhaps take our mothers out for brunch or dinner. We will probably find that our attempts to communicate our love will seem so little, but to a mom...well, a little is HUGE!

Mother's Day can also be a time to honor those women who did not give birth to us physically, but who have loved us and poured into our lives as if we were their own.

In Exodus 20:12 we are told to "Honor our father and mother...", of course the original intention was not just one day a year, but every day! This word honor carries with it the meaning of 'giving place to'. We are to give our mothers 'place' in our lives, we can do this in a variety of ways, and yet there are some that have mothers, that to give physical place to them would be unsafe and unwise...you can still 'honor' your mother and give place to her by thoughtfully and faithfully praying for her.

I think it is telling that the original meaning of the word "mother" is... "a point of departure or division; one who gives birth to; one who gives rise to".

From the moment that a mother gives birth to her child she herself, has begun the journey of learning to let them go. Birth itself is twofold, the birth of a new life...and the birth of a new mom! Once the "departure or division" has occurred through birth, next comes the mother's responsibility of "giving rise" to that child. Needless to say, mothers need the wisdom of God in the "rising" or "raising" of their children!

We women can all be mothers, in the sense that we can all, pour into the lives of those around us...we can give "birth to" and "give rise" to many. Has there been a woman, perhaps your own mother, who has poured into your life that, which has given you rise? Then tell her, share with others and pass the blessing along! Today, give thanks to the woman or women that have given birth to and continue to give rise to you, and perhaps be determined to be that woman, to another...someone whom God has placed in your circle of influence...pouring into their lives all that the Lord has poured into you!