Mother’s Day is May 9th this year. Just a heads up for those of you who realize keeping up with dates is a shortcoming. (I include myself in that number, so don’t be offended.) What is a mother? We often recognize a mother as a woman who has given birth to a child. While that is true, I think the definition should be broadened a bit. We attribute motherhood to those women who give birth to a child because of the characteristics we associate with those blessed women. Mothers demonstrate love for their children through their caring devotion to the needs of their offspring. They nurture those children to be the best person that they can be. They make sure that the children are well fed and promote their health by making sure they are clean and have good hygiene. They listen attentively to the stories that their children tell of their days. They give a comforting hug when there is pain. They give a smile when encouragement is needed. Sometimes they express disappointment when a child does not behave in a manner that is acceptable, sometimes with the “look,” sometimes with sterner discipline. They can be staunch defenders of their children (hence the saying don’t come between a mama bear and her cub). These are all characteristics with which we associate motherhood. Do only mothers exhibit these characteristics?

My answer to this question is no. There are many women who exhibit these characteristics for children who are not their biological offspring. How about those women who are not able to have children of their own, but exhibit these behaviors toward nieces and nephews? I know of several examples of these types of women. How about those women who choose to teach little ones? Don’t they also demonstrate the mothering instincts when fulfilling these roles? I have heard of many instances where a nanny demonstrated greater mothering attributes than the biological mothers. What of the grandmother who cares for a grandchild because the mother is unable to do so whether because of emotional, mental or physical issues? How about the mother of adopted children or foster children? What about women who work with children who are placed in group homes? Motherhood is more a role in life than a biological function and we should honor all the women who have played this role in our lives when we celebrate Mother’s Day.

Do all mother’s meet the ideal standard that we recognize as motherhood? Sadly, no. Some struggle to fill that role. Should we think less of the struggling mother? No, we should encourage her and celebrate what she is able to do. If you have a “mother” who has failed to fulfill that role for you sufficiently, don’t blame her for her shortcomings. Be forgiving, and give grace to her. Love her. Recognize those women who do step into that role in your life and honor them for that effort they put forth. The fifth commandment and the first that is not directly about your relationship with God is to Honor your father and mother. It is also the first with a promise: “that your days may be long….” How do we honor mothers in our lives? We give them respect by listening to them. We show our love and appreciation for them by doing what we can to ease their burdens. This Mother’s Day show your appreciation for these women in your life by taking the time to give her a hug, calling her to say thank you, send her a card, take her out to dinner, maybe bring her some flowers, clean a room for her, go to church with her, sit down and watch a movie with her.

Why should you wait for Mother’s Day to do this? After all, there are many days between today and May 9th. Truly, every day should be Mother’s Day. As a person whose mother has already passed on to heaven, I choose to honor her by doing these things for those women I see filling the role in our society. Our church is having a Mother’s Day potluck and I will be doing my best to prepare some dishes for the women in our church with all the love and care as I would for my own mother. Maybe you don’t cook. What can you do to show your appreciation?

I welcome any feedback that you have for my blog post. If you wish to make a comment below, or if you wish to send me a private message through Facebook messenger, I would appreciate it. If you think I have missed any characteristics of a mother, or if you just want to celebrate those women in your life who you see filling this role, please feel free to post in the comment section. I welcome you to share this post with anyone you think would appreciate it. If you feel the need to make a negative comment about motherhood, I invite you to keep it to yourself or send it in a private message. I want these comments to be positive and honoring for mothers.

Thank you, God Bless.