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| My mother, Marilyn and Dad |
BY STEVE DUNN
Yesterday much of America
observed Mother’s Day. It is one
of the most celebrated holidays in our nation.
People have mixed emotions about this day—depending on whether or not
your mother is deceased or you are a woman who suffers from infertility that
prevents you from giving birth or a youngster whose Mom is stationed overseas
in defense of our country or whether you are a mother whose children no longer
call or visit or whether you have a cherished mother that you can connect
with. (I know that was a very long
sentence.) For some it is a source of joy and some a source of cynicism (“the
holiday created by Hallmark,” someone once told me.) For others it is a source of pain because of
the emptiness of the womb or the loss of a mother who was a treasured friend.
Perhaps you are not
familiar with the origins of Mother’s Day.
It was 1876 and the nation still mourned the Civil War dead. While
teaching a Memorial Day lesson, Mrs. Anna Reeves Jarvis thought of mothers who
had lost their sons. She prayed that one day there could be a "Memorial
Day" for mothers. The prayer made a deep impression on one of Mrs. Jarvis
eleven children. Young Anna had seen her mother’s efforts to hold the war-split
community and church together. As she grew into adulthood, the younger woman
kept Mrs. Jarvis dream in her heart. On the day of her mother’s death, Anna was
determined to establish Mother’s Day in her honor.[i]
Through local observances
that were imitated and repeated, word-of-mouth, some organized campaigns-Anna
and her compatriots finally saw the movement spread to 45 states. In 1914, President officially designated the
second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
I, for one, celebrate
Mother’s Day. But as a pastor sensitive
to the hearts of many women in my community, I remind people that we are
blessed with biological mothers and spiritual mothers. The former brought us into the world and
provided the love and security that began to shape us as persons. The latter have
been women who led Sunday School, who served as an extra grandmother, worked
with youth groups, mentored and modeled the values of Christ that have helped
make us people of Christian character and commitment.
Both mothers are to be
honored—and when we have both—we are blessed.
These are the women whose “children” rise up and call them blessed.
(Proverbs 31:28)
© 2018 by Stephen L. Dunn. You have permission to reprint this provided
it is unchanged, proper authorship is cited, it is in a publication not for
sale, and a link is provided to this site or to www.drstevedunn.com. For all
other uses, contact Steve at sdunnpastor@gmail.com
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| Dianne, mother of my four children and grandmother to their seven |
[i]
Source Sermon Central.Com downloaded May 13, 2018
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