My Love It and Struggle with it Relationship with Mother's Day

Today is a day on the calendar that can be a difficult day sometimes.

Mother's Day.

Not because I don't appreciate my Mom. I do. I'm convinced I have the best Mom in the world.

Not because I don't think Moms should be celebrated. I do. I know so many who do a great job at what they have been given to do.

I struggle with Mother's Day sometimes because I'm not one and I wish I was. If my life had gone according to my plan for it, I would be. But, God has had something different in store for me than I had planned.

I have a great life. I am blessed beyond anything I could have asked for. I get to do so much that I enjoy and to spend time with people I can't imagine my life without.

But, there are still moments when I struggle with feeling like something I've dreamed about and desired hasn't happened. Mother's Day is one of those days. One of those times when I struggle with feeling like that part of what I've desired hasn't happened yet.

In the last few days, I've seen links to many and read a few of the posts others have written that talk about how we shouldn't make a big deal out of Mother's Day in church because of women who desire to be mothers and aren't for any number of reasons. I don't want this to be that kind of a post. I believe that we need to celebrate our mothers and all that they do. They deserve it.

But, that doesn't change the fact that when Mother's Day comes each year, while I'm celebrating my Mom, I'm also struggling with the reality that I'm not one yet and I wish I was. It makes it hard sometimes.

I'm learning that we can be content with the life that we have - the life that God has given to us. But, at the same time, we can still have desires for something different. It all comes down to what consumes us. I can let my desire for what I don't have consume me, or I can acknowledge it's there and still seek to live my life to the full with what God has for me right now.

In those moments when it's hard . . . In those moments when the reality of that part of my plans for my life not happening yet is on my mind and taking up space it usually doesn't in my head . . . Those the times when I'm grateful for a God who cares and for family and friends who care.

When it comes to Mother's Day . . . we need to celebrate it . . . even in the church . . . maybe especially in the church with the way the family is under attack in our culture. But, we also need to be aware that for some people it is a difficult day . . . for any number of reasons. Reasons as diverse as the people who struggle with it.

We need to learn how to celebrate some and how to care for those who are struggling at the same time. That's what the church should be. That's what we were called to be. It may not be easy. We may not do it well all the time. But, I believe that is what God desires for us.