Happy Mother’s Day is the familiar greeting when Mother’s Day rolls around.  But for many, it’s a bittersweet and difficult day.

It’s good that we understand that Mother’s Day hits differently for different moms every year. There is a great joy to be celebrated and significant pain to share. Someone unknown captured this in a poem I like to share with our church every year. It is encouraging to be sensitive to the varying degrees of Mother’s Day in a woman’s heart.

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 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 more challenging than it is.

To those who are stepmoms, 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, heartache, 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 is not for the faint of heart, and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.

May God bless you and yours this Mother’s Day.

~Author Unknown

As you walk in love toward others, the Lord will enable you to minister to women in all stages of life.