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Abraham Lincoln once said, “All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my mother.”
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Isn’t that true for so many of us?
Much of the good within us we learned from our mothers.
Motherhood is a thrilling, exhausting, and uniquely rewarding experience in life.
It’s a role that some of us will never play, but hopefully we’ve all had the experience of being loved by a mom.
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Recently, I had the opportunity to ask some moms about the challenges, struggles, and rewards of motherhood. Perhaps some of their answers will resonate with you.
When asked about the greatest joys of being a mom, many said either, “Watching my children make good choices, becoming who God created them to be.”
Or, “Watching them grow and discover their talents. Each stage of their life is precious and a wonder to watch.”
When asked about the challenges of motherhood, some remarked, “Letting my children learn from their mistakes… worrying about their safety… or wondering what kind of people they’ll become once they leave the nest.”
But the hardest question of all: What’s the biggest struggle of motherhood?
Nearly everyone said the same thing: “Watching my children experience physical or emotional pain.”
That scene rips your heart out.
Every mom’s been there – you know that helpless feeling of watching your child weep with a broken heart or a broken leg. Even a skinned knee sets off a mother’s tears. You’d give anything to take their place.
But you can’t.
All you can do is hold them in your arms, wipe away their tears, and assure them that everything will be okay because, “Mommy’s here.”
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My brothers and sisters in Christ, everything that is holy, good, and beautiful in motherhood we find in Jesus.
Like a mother, Jesus has the ability to nurture and to feed… He feeds us with his Body and Blood every time we approach this altar.
To those receiving First Communion, in particular, I encourage you to always remember this – Jesus will never leave you.
Like a mother, Jesus is relentless in his willingness to sacrifice for us – to make amends, to protect us, to heal us, to understand the quirks of our hearts.
He never loses interest – whatever excites us, whatever weighs us down – Jesus wants to share.
Imagine him saying, “Come to me just as you are and I will love you because you are mine.”
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That’s the love of a mother – it’s also the love of Jesus.
Bringing Abraham Lincoln’s words a little deeper, we might say, “All that I am or hope to be, I owe to Jesus.”
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As strange as it sounds, on this Mother’s Day we should also pay tribute to the Lord, considering what good he’s done in our lives, and how we might follow him better.
As Jesus says in the Gospel today, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.”
To be a Christian, then, means not only thinking about Jesus; it also means acting on his word.
Our mission this week – and really every day of our lives – is to answer the following questions:
Where is the Lord asking me trust him a little more? Where is he drawing me deeper into a relationship with him?
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Just as mothers delight in the undivided love and attention of their children, so the Lord delights in us.
May we give Jesus our best, because like Mom, he deserves nothing less.
