SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021
Mothers are pillars of the family structure. We often seek them for empathy and a listening ear in times of trouble. No matter who we grow up to be, or how far away we roam, sometimes we just need the affirmation of a mom’s gentle hug. Mother’s Day offers the perfect opportunity to bless your mom and pray for her!
God has given us mothers to carry us, raise us, teach us, and mold us into godly people. Of course no mother is perfect, and not everyone grew up with a loving mother. But every mother out there — from the one who feels she was born to be a mom to the one who struggles with the title — deserves honor and praise for the role God has given them. A role that reflects God in a deeply profound way.
Mother’s Day is the perfect occasion to offer this honor and love in word and deed, to show the extent to which we’re grateful for all they do, every day.
History of Mother’s Day
Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”
Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church”—the main church in the vicinity of their home—for a special service.
Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation. This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s.