Honoring Mothers

What my mother taught me…

Motherhood is one of the highest forms of ministry to the Lord and to the world.

Motherhood is characterized by a self-sacrificing heart that holds her child's interest and well-being above her own.

• A teacher was trying to teach her class a lesson about fractions. After the lesson she tested one of the boys who was in a large family. "Johnny," she said, "There are 6 people in your family. Your mom bakes a pie, and she cuts it up for you, what percentage of the pie will you receive?" Johnny, thought for a minute, and said, "One-fifth." The teacher said, "Now, remember there are 6 people in your family. How big would your piece of pie be?" And again Johnny said, "One-fifth." The teacher said, "No, you don’t understand fractions." And Johnny respectfully said, "You don’t understand my mom. She would have said that she didn’t want any."
• 1 Kings 3:16-27 Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. "Please, my lord," one of them began, "this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house. Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house. "But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't my son at all." Then the other woman interrupted, "It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine." "No," the first woman said, "the living child is mine, and the dead one is yours." And so they argued back and forth before the king. Then the king said, "Let's get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other. All right, bring me a sword." So a sword was brought to the king. Then he said, "Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!" Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, "Oh no, my lord! Give her the child-please do not kill him!" But the other woman said, "All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!" Then the king said, "Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!"

No wonder, then, we are commanded to "honor your father and mother"!

• Ephesians 6:2-3 “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

"Honor your mother" as seen through the law of Christ

• John 19:26-27 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.
• 1 Timothy 5:2 Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.
• Romans 12:10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

A mother's love is the first taste we get of the love and grace of God.

• To quote Erick Fromm, "Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved."

From MessyMiddle.com:

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 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 harder than it is.
To those who are 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, heart ache, 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 have aborted children – we remember them and you on this day
To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be
To those who step-parent – we walk with you on these complex paths
To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren -yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you
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.

http://www.messymiddle.com/2012/05/10/an-open-letter-to-pastors-a-non-mom-speaks-about-mothers-day/