Mothering Sunday

As Mother’s Day approaches, I have been thinking about the role of mothers in our lives, as well as being a mother myself. From birth, we are reliant on our mums. They care for our physical needs, as well as providing us with a safe place to go. Even at my age, it is my mother who I go to for advice or a word of comfort. Mothers provide unwavering faith, being present at all times in our lives, providing unconditional love. It doesn't matter how busy they are, you are their priority. Faithfulness, unconditional love and always being present - does that sound like anyone else we know? Our Father, Our God. He is our loving parent. He is the role model for all mothers.

God teaches and sets the example of a loving parent. He is faithful to the loving relationship He has with his children. As a mum, I know this can be hard to follow at times. There are the pressures of everyday life that can overwhelm mothers, at times making it difficult to provide the unconditional love and support a child needs. We consider our mothers to be superheroes, providing everything we need on demand. Yet mothers have needs too that are often not expressed as they put their children first.

When we look at mothers in the Bible we can see how they can be inspirational for God’s children in how to draw closer to God. The obvious mother comes to mind – Mary, the mother of the Son of God. Here is a young teenage girl who holds so faithfully to the honour bestowed upon her. She is wise beyond her young age and obediently follows God and trusts in His plan for her. At times, it would have been difficult in ways we can only imagine. She not only had a pregnancy as an unwed mother, but had to see her son's life as the Messiah under threat as he travelled carrying out his ministry. She must have felt great anxiety, but her faith in God and who her son was carried her through. As Mary states, 'my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed’ (Luke 1:47-48). God is certainly mindful and loves his children as a loving parent. Our mothers too are mindful of their children's needs, putting them ahead of their own. Mothering Sunday is the ideal time to celebrate this, to put our mothers first and show them our thanks for their care and love.

Some of us are not blessed with loving relationships with our mothers, but God provides us with female role models who care for us as deeply as a mother would. This could be an aunty, sister or a friend, to name but a few. We only have to look at Ruth, a Moabite woman who married into an Israelite family. When her husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law passed away, she was presented with a difficult choice. Would she return to her parents and people, or follow her mother-in-law, Naomi back to Bethlehem? Ruth decided to go with Naomi. It must have been a difficult decision, but Ruth chose to follow her mother in law who had been an example of honest faith. Throughout the book of Ruth, in her relationship with her mother in law, we see Ruth grow in obedience, trust, kindness and faith. Our mothers and other women in our lives are a gift from God that impact the way we live our lives.

Jesus gave us all so much love and it is this kind of love that a mother shows. A mother will get up in the middle of the night to care for her sick child, she is always there to hold their hand when they take their first steps and she's there to listen. A mother will love like Jesus, who is there too in your suffering, to hold your hand, to love and care for you. He is always present. His love for you is endless. A mother's love should be modelled on this. It should be limitless, filled with gentleness, in teaching and looking after you: "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 66:13). God compares his love to that of a mother, showing the importance of mothers in our lives. We are so blessed to have mothers and other women in our lives that show us such faithfulness, care and love.

This Mothering Sunday, take time out to honour and spend time with your mother. Show her your love, care and appreciation. Thank God for being blessed by our mothers and other female role models in our lives. Make this the year that you: “Honour your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 5:16).