Mother's Day thoughts - 2022

Back in 2014, I had the privilege of attending a Christian writer’s conference.  This event was incredible.  One of the workshops was entitled “Positive Impact from Negative Experiences”.  It was all about how God can use painful circumstances for His glory and the good of His children.  I was so inspired by the notion that day that I got a CD copy of this talk so I could refer back to it again.  Recently, this CD caught my eye, and I listened to it again.   

At one point, the facilitator gave a quote from an author named Ruth Vaughn.  She said, “God can make creative use out of your misery.”  Little did I know in 2014 that I would soon be facing my own misery.  The next year, 2015, my dad would pass away in a death that no one would have ever seen coming.  But Vaughn was right: God in sovereignty, has made creative use out of that miserable situation in my life in ways that I couldn’t possibly begin to enumerate today.

It’s Mother’s Day.  And because of what I’ve been through, I feel compelled to share this with you: honor both your mother and father while you can.  No one lives on this planet forever.  Life is a fleeting gift.  It is, as James describes it, “a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).  We should always take the opportunity to let our parents – and all of our friends and loved ones for that matter – how much we love them.

Someone wants to object, “But my parents don’t deserve to be honored.”  I get it.  I know a parent can shirk their responsibility, and be a source of hurt, not help and love.  I’m sorry about that.  I wish it wasn’t the case, and I’ll talk more about the pain associated with a day like this in a moment.  But a parent’s bad example doesn’t change the fact that one of the Ten Commandments is to honor your father and mother (Exodus 20:12).  It may not be easy, but speaking words of blessing, rather than cursing, is the right thing to do.  Furthermore, consider that verse in Romans 2 that states that it is God’s kindness that leads to repentance.  Perhaps your act of obedience, your act of Christ-like kindness, could lead them to forgiveness and repentance.

I would be remiss if I didn’t briefly speak about my own mother.  My mom, Rose Mary, deserves honor and respect (and so does my dad, by the way.  I miss him terribly.  But I plan to speak more about him next month on Father’s Day).  Of course, no parent is perfect, but Mom is such a blessing.  Her love for me and belief in me raises my spirits up to the highest of heights.  A few years back, I got her a plaque that had Wonder Woman’s emblem on it, and the inscription that reads, “A true Wonder Woman”.  It’s a good comparison in many ways.

To conclude, Mother’s Day can be a difficult day.  At church today, I teared up a few times.  I know that there were various stories of grief, heartache, and misery that the men and women all around me in that service could tell.  I know that’s true for you reading this as well.  It’s a special day, but it’s mingled with pain.  I think it was God’s Spirit that reminded me of Psalm 56:8; it states that the Lord records all of our tears in His book. 

Kevin