One Mother’s Day, the comic strip, Calvin and Hobbs,
pictured Calvin standing by his mother’s bed. "Hey,
Mom! Wake up. I made you a Mother’s Day card." "My,
how sweet of you." she says. "I did it all by
myself. Go ahead & read it." She begins to read:
"I was going to buy a card with hearts of pink and
red. But then I thought I’d rather spend the money
on me instead. It’s awfully hard to buy things when
one’s allowance is so small. So I guess you’re
pretty lucky I got you anything at all. Happy
Mother’s Day. Now I’m done. So how about getting out
of bed and fixing breakfast for your son." "I’m
deeply moved," said his mother. Calvin asks, "Did
you notice the part about my allowance?”
While we certainly want to magnify motherhood this
month, I recognize that this is also a very tough
day for some women because:
a. for some, motherhood is an accident, and not
always a welcomed one
b. for some, biological motherhood isn’t possible
c. for some, mothers weren’t all that nice
d. Perhaps your mother died, or divorced, or was
abusive
e. Still others struggle with pain over loss: death
of a child, miscarriage, or abortion. Loss of a
dream of one day having children of your own
f. Or it’s difficult because of your own guilt and
believing that you fall way short as a mom.
For you, Mother’s Day is painful and brings on some
pretty deep hurt.
So, with all those qualifications, why bother with
Mothers’ Day at all?
I’ll tell you why — because for all its stumbling
blocks, pitfalls, broken hearts and broken dreams,
we’re talking about a beautiful ideal, a natural
part of God’s plan to bring love and caring to
light. Motherhood at its core was meant to bring a
constant flow of love and encouragement and give the
child their first impression of God’s love. That was
the plan and for thousands of years, that worked.
Just look at the life of Moses. By all human
standards, Moses never had a chance. Not only was he
born to a slave, but there was already a death
sentence upon him. Moses was a Hebrew, born in the
cruel culture of ancient Egypt where Pharaoh had
declared that all the Hebrew boys that were born
were to be exterminated. Throw them into the river
(to the crocodiles).
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Thus Pharaoh became one of a long line of lunatics who have
attempted to exterminate the Jews.
What caused this attempt to eradicate an entire race? It has always
been Satan’s passion to exterminate the Jewish race. He knew that
through them the savior of the world would come.
So, he has used people throughout history to reach his goal. Into
this situation Moses was born!
One road block hindered Pharaoh’s plan, a young, determined mother
named Jochebed. While everyone bowed to this new order, one person
would not submit. No one, not even mighty Pharaoh would lay his
hands on her God-given child.
She determined in her heart to stand firm against the forces of evil
in her day, forces that wanted to destroy her son and God’s nation!
I like the way the author of Hebrews speaks about Jochebed, “She was
not afraid of the King’s edict.” (Hebrews 11:23)What’s a mother to
do? Take a stand for God. Take a stand for morality and goodness and
kindness. Take a stand against evil in our world and take a stand
for Christ. Regardless of what evils the king may demand of you;
take a stand. (And let your children see you do it.)
[Ron Otto from Lincoln Christian Church]
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