MOM

We all have a mom. Some moms are still on earth and some have passed on. Each mom is special. God had a purpose for each of us here on this earth and our mom is part of that plan. Psalm 139:13 says "For you have knit me together in my mother's womb".

Moms raise to know what is right and wrong. They teach us how to eat healthy. Through them we learn discipline. Moms spend countless hours in the early years changing diapers and getting up early in the morning for hungry babies that are crying. Moms teach us about Jesus. Now some of you reading this may not have this kind of mom relationship. Maybe you don't have warm fuzzies about your mom or she did not treat you like this. If your mom did something to hurt you try to forgive her and move on. Do not hold something over her head and be bitter.

Other moms out there perhaps have lost a child to sudden infant death syndrome or later before it reached its' first birthday. Maybe your child was killed in the recent tornado or even lost their life in a accident or cancer of some sort. These are all quite painful to a mom on Mothers  Day so if you know someone in one of those categories perhaps pray for them today on this day.

1 Samuel 1:27-28 says " I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord. And he worshiped the Lord there." Your child is not yours. He is on loan from God. You are to raise this little blessing to serve the Lord. Proverbs 22:6 is a familiar parenting verse and it says "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

On this Mothers' Day it is a time to celebrate all that your mom has done for you. The sacrifices made by her so you could have a good life. Many moms stay home and many work. It is a matter of personal choice or need. I know my husband got tired of me saying to others back in the early 90's when asked what I did and would say I was a stay home mom or that  "I am just a mom" . He got me my own stay home business card to boost my self esteem. You are not 'just' anything. Moms are world changers. If someone were to ask me what I did after I got that card I would proudly say " I am training leaders for the future!"

If your mom is still alive today be sure to thank her in person if you live in same area  and maybe go take her out to eat. If miles separate you pick up that phone and call. I know one of biggest challenges for me as a mom of an adult child is learning to back off and letting them take complete control of their life. And then later on when your son or daughter marries you have to remember the command to leave and cleave in order to not interfere in their new life together. Matthew 19:5 says "and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?
These are all stages of 'mommyhood'. Raising babies and spending five years together. Next  letting them go off to kindergarten all alone. Allowing them to go to a friends house overnight the first time is scary but necessary. Setting boundaries in their life for what is right and wrong so they know how to behave in society later. The time they get their drivers license gives us a few gray hairs. Going on a first date with the opposite sex too. Then off to college they go and the empty nest begins.Then marriage. But all these are stages to releasing them to be the men and women God created them to be.
So rejoice this moms day and think of all the things your mom did for you to help get you where you are in life today. And as mentioned before if you have painful memories give them over to the Lord who alone can heal and redeem.
Proverbs 31:28 "Her children rise up and call her blessed;her husband also, and he praises her".

PRAYER: We thank you for our moms this Mothers Day .Without our mom, and of course our dad, we would not be here. For those who are adopted we thank you for both our adoptive parents who 'chose' us and our biological parents who chose to give us life. We praise your name for all moms. In Jesus Name. Amen.