Mother’s Day
Reflection
Motherhood is the giving of oneself in order to bring forth, nurture and sustain the life of another. There is an unconditional quality to the love of a true mother. Motherhood challenges one to love, to teach her children without domination, to be a harbor of safety and unceasing welcome. A mother’s love continues to surround her adult children but also enables her to set them free. She makes space in her own life for others. We see this not only in the human family but throughout nature. The creative, faithful love of the God who delights in sustaining life is reflected through mothers. From the heart of the Source of All Life flows the essence of motherhood.
Prayer
I thank you, God, for the gift of my mother.
Action
Today let your mother know of your gratitude and love for all she is in your life. If she is no longer alive, reflect on her love and influence in your life and give thanks.
Suggested Reading
As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.
Isaiah 66:13
Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.
John 16:21
Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
Luke 2:51
This is the most extraordinary thing about motherhood – finding a piece of yourself separate and apart that all the same you could not live without.
Jodi Picoult
I looked on child rearing not only as a work of love and duty but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world and one that demanded the best that I could bring to it.
Rose Kennedy
Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation.
Robert A. Heinlein
When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children.
Jessica Lange
The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.
Rajneesh
Being a mother means having my heart permanently stitched to my sleeve, out there and vulnerable and afraid, yet somehow finding such fulfillment and hope that I’m able to appreciate the extraordinary journey. Though it is maddening, terrifying at times, it is also glorious and beautiful; and the most absurd part is that I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.
Stephanie Jankowski
The meaning of being a mother is virtually endless. A mother is a protector, disciplinarian and friend. A mother is a selfless, loving human who must sacrifice many of her wants and needs for the wants and needs of her children. A mother works hard to make sure her child is equipped with the knowledge, skills and abilities to make it as a competent human being. Being a mother is perhaps the hardest, most rewarding job a woman will ever experience.
Susan Diranian