mothering is for everyone

Holidays can often leave a painful mark or reminder for those who had absent, hurtful, tumultuous relationships with loved ones that are either still lingering or were left undone without closure or mended hearts. Mother’s Day is a day when most are celebrated but there are some that are hurting. If this is you, maybe you have...

feelings of abandonment...


feelings of resentment...


feelings of wanting...


feelings of complacency...


feelings of blah...


feelings of loss...


feelings of fear...


feelings of anxiety...


feelings of the not yet...

Lots of feelings. I want to say to you...

You are seen. You are loved. You are cherished. Jesus sees you and loves you more than any mother could love.

In church one morning, I noticed people...some joyful, some sad, some hurt, some happy, some mundane and unnoticed. God hits me with, “These are my kids and they need to be mothered too.”

Whether you have/had a great relationship with your mom or not, there are lots of people that need mothering. Children, adults, friends, new friends, strangers...lots of people need support. And a loving mother is supportive, nurturing, going above and beyond what any normal human would do, and isn’t that exactly what Jesus asks us to do? To love? Sometimes people don’t have the support that others have and even if they have it, that doesn’t mean they couldn’t use more.

My friend, who is now a pastor ;) gave a sermon and mentioned a moment she had in Chipotle with a complete stranger. She had a hankering for Chipotle and beyond all rational reasons decided to take her kids to Chipotle alone, late, on a school night...CRAZY. TOWN! Anyway, she finished ordering and everyone was behaved and they were eating their bowls of guacamole goodness when the young girl at the next table was having a moment. My friend looked over and saw her crying. She rushed over to her and asked her what was wrong? The girl says, “my mother died!” Just like that my friend was ready to engage and mother this complete stranger. God makes divine appointments for us. To love one another. That right there, was a moment for that girl to feel loved when her mother could not be there to love her like she wanted. But my friend responded because she knows the love of Jesus is not to be kept to herself, but to be spread.

In Titus 2, Paul urges us... “As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching.”‭‭ Titus‬ ‭2:1 and then he goes on to show us the roles we should play in “mothering” each other, men AND women. We are given instruction to invest in the community around us because it only brings a better community. 

If you are waiting to mother someone, I challenge you to look around. Find someone to invest in. Whether it be a friend, a child, another mother, a stranger at a restaurant, anyone needing to be loved and seen and do that. If you’ve never felt a mother’s love, seize that moment and turn that around. All you need is the love of Jesus. Make a relationship with someone that is going to last or that they will remember, “that person loved me because they are Jesus’s love;)”.  You don’t have to have kids to be a mentor or a “mother” to someone. Be someone’s sunshine.