Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mother's Day

Today was Mother's Day in North America.  Churches were extolling the virtues of being a mother.  Ladies were handed flowers, or coupons for Tim Horton's, as they walked into church.  Families gathered for food and fellowship, honouring mom by giving cards or flowers, pictures of the children, or gift certificates to favourite restaurants.

It's a good thing to honour moms.  Theirs is a difficult task.  I honoured the moms in our family by writing the following to my daughters and daughter-in-law:

To all of my daughters and my daughter-in-law, who have blessed our family with the most gorgeous grandchildren in the world, Happy Mother's Day.  Praise the One Who blessed you with children and formed them in secret, in the depths of your wombs.  Praise Him for giving you strength and courage to labour, not only to bear these little souls, but to raise them to know Him and serve Him all the days of their lives.  May God continue to pour out blessings on you - love for your families, joy in the journey, wisdom to deal with their needs and desires, and peace as you remember that He Who called you is faithful, and will walk with you all of the days of your life.

I believe in giving honour to whom honour is due.  And as I was lying in bed this afternoon, trying to catch a quick nap before the Thundering Herd arrived, I thought... "GOD is the One Who should be honoured on Mother's Day!"

God designed mothers.  He gave them the unique ability to accept a seed that would join with their egg, forming a tiny person within the womb.  He intricately knit each one of us together in the secret place!

God designed pregnancy.  Every detail of the pregnant woman's body is amazing.  Blood volume doubles.  Organs move out of the way to accommodate the growing uterus.  The placenta, the amniotic fluid, the exchange of blood gases and nutrients - all designed perfectly by our Creator!

God designed labour and delivery.  It's astounding to watch a baby emerge from his mother's birth canal.  The contractions, the thinning of the cervix, the birth of baby and placenta...all planned by God's good hand.

God designed the mother's breasts to be the perfect way to feed a baby.  He gave her maternal feelings so that she would love (instantly, in most cases!) and protect her little one.  The breasts were not only designed to provide nutrients, but also to provide antibodies so that the baby's immune system would have the right cues to develop immunities to germs in this dark and sometimes dangerous world.

God designed a mother's love.  He knew that she would care for her children from before they were born to the end of life - whether hers or theirs, only God knows.  He knew that the children would learn from Mom; but He also knew that the Moms would learn from their children -love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, selfcontrol.

God, YOU are amazing.  You deserve all of the praise and all of the glory.  If there ever were a mother who loved as You love, it's only because of Your grace.  If there ever were a mother who disciplined with wisdom and taught her wayward child with patience, it is only because of Your grace.

Thank you, God, for Your beautiful design.  Thank you, God, for mothers.

4 comments:

  1. Yay for mommies... and Thundering Herds. ;)

    That was fun. We should do it again sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so glad you posted. Now I can go to bed. You're all home, safe and sound. (((hugs)))

    ReplyDelete

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