Dear church,
I want to offer you two simple encouragements and some heart-felt sympathy. This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day. For many of us, it is a day of great joy. For others, it is a reminder of sorrow. And, for another large group, it is both. With that backdrop, I will begin with two encouragements. First, celebrate your own mother. I’m not a mother, obviously, but I have one and am married to one and I know how much a simple, but special acknowledgment means. Secondly, if you are a father, help your children celebrate their mother (especially young children). This will do two things: 1) It will instill in them, from a very young age, how important and special their mom is and; 2) It will teach young men how to honor women and teach young women what it means to be honored and, consequently, how to determine whether or not a man is loving her sacrificially.
For those of you who, from one circumstance or another, approach Mother’s Day with pain or emptiness, I want to say that I am sorry. I may know some of your circumstances, but I certainly do not know them all. Yet, because I care for you, I want to acknowledge the difficulty around this day for many.
How do you honor a mother on Mother’s Day? Perhaps, you could start with this verse: “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her” (Proverbs 31:28). I will help Piper to honor Holly this weekend, but this verse tells me I should honor my wife also. The fact that Holly is a mom is so precious to me that I want to end this letter by publicly honoring her and thanking her for being a mom.
A few reasons I’m thankful Holly is a mom:
- Holly loves being a mom and I’m grateful God gave her that opportunity.
- She made me a dad. I love being a dad and I couldn’t have done it without her.
- I love Piper and, more than anything else in the world, besides a relationship with Jesus, I want her to have a relationship with a great mom; she’s got one.
- I have a job with a demanding schedule and, like many people, I am away from home quite a bit. I’m glad Holly is there to be with Piper. There’s no one else I’d rather she be with.
- Holly loves God and His Word and she is teaching Piper to do the same. She reads the Bible, prays, and sings worship songs with her.
- Holly is not perfect and she makes mistakes. At times, Holly needs to ask forgiveness from God and others. She does this, even from Piper, and is teaching Piper to do that as well.
- Holly wants Piper to love her home, make good memories, and treasure her childhood so she plans fun activities, takes lots of pictures, and makes good meals. I get to enjoy all of those things as well.
I praise God for Holly. She is a great mom!
Pastor Adam
