A Mother's Day Blessing

Mother's Day is such a blessing and ball of yarn over here.  And in countless other homes.  For so many reasons - too many to even begin to list.  Hallmark's intentions are certainly "nice" in celebrating the miracle of being a mom, but it's just not so simple or lovely in most cases.  At church yesterday, our pastor team read a blessing for Mother's Day at the beginning of the service and everywhere you looked, tears were welling.  Alligator tears.  Never before have we left a Sunday service on Mom's Day feeling so understood and in community with others who recognize the bittersweet taste the day leaves in our mouths and in our hearts.  As the years go by, I find myself texting and calling more and more loved ones who need extra attention on Mother's Day.  The list continues to expand as life paths continue to wind.

"To those who gave birth this year to their first child - we celebrate with you.
To those who lost a child this year - we mourn with you.
To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains - we appreciate you.
To those who offered their child a life they could not provide through adoption, we honor you and raise you up.
To those who experienced loss this year through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away - we mourn with you.
To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment - we walk with you.  Forgive us when we say foolish things.  We don't mean to make this harder than it is.
To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms - we need you.
To those who have warm and close relationships with your children - we celebrate with you.
To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children - we sit with you.
To those who lost their mothers this year - we grieve with you.
To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother- we acknowledge your experience.
To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood - we are better for having you in our midst.
To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year - we grieve and rejoice with you.
And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising -we anticipate with you.
This Mother's Day, we walk with you.  Mothering if not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst.  We remember you."

Amen?  Happy Mother's Day to all those who call themselves Mom, all those who long to call themselves Mom, and those who I call Mom.