A reflective Mother’s Day to one and all

It’s Mother’s Day, a day for honouring mothers and motherhood.

On this occasion last year I was marking the day thinking of my two precious children – the one in God’s arms and the one snuggled cosily in my womb.

This year that second child is making her presence known throwing pieces of banana and spoons covered with yoghurt around the lounge and trying (sometimes succeeding) to pull out bits of my hair. It’s a good job I love her.

For many, Mother’s Day is a difficult time. From the children who have lost mothers, mothers who have lost children to those who long to be mothers but aren’t, and those who don’t want to be but are pressured to be, so many have reasons why their hearts might feel heavy on a day like today.

And, with the current global situation, there will be many people disappointed that they are unable to be with their mother or their children as they would usually be today. And many will be concerned about how they can keep their mother and/or children safe at rhis time or encourage them to stay safe.

On this Mother’s Day when we’ve perhaps been forced to change our plans and live a little more simply, let’s find a few minutes to honour our mothers and the other mothers in our lives in whatever ways are available to us, and let’s remember the key role mothers and mother-figures play in our lives, in times of crisis and in the ordinary day-to-day.

And let us also remember the ultimate parent, who is available to each of us, no matter what our relationships with our earthly parents, and whose abounding love is mimicked by every loving mother. As God says in the Bible says in Isaiah chapter 66, verse 13, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you…”

Sarah Moore is the author of For the Love of Lentil, A journey of longing, loss and abundant grace, which tells the story of her experience of pregnancy and miscarriage. Copies of the book are available here.