Things I learned from Mom...

"My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;
         In the morning I will direct it to You,
         And I will look up. " Psalm 5:3

As I sit here in the quiet of this Mother's Day morning, of course, my thoughts go to my own Mom.  My Mom had a habit of waking up at least 30 minutes before anyone else and, as she called it "making her peace with the world".  I find this an amazing habit, and one I didn't really appreciate until we had children and school schedules to attend to. It is an amazing habit, because my Mom is a night owl, and often wouldn't go to sleep until well after midnight, only to wake again around 5 or 5:30.

Over the years I've used this same habit with various amounts of success, as I, too, am a night owl...or used to be.  The latest evolution of this in my life over the past year is that I set the alarm early and then lay in bed for about 30 minutes as my body tries to prepare for needing to face the forces of gravity again. I lay there flat on my back checking email and news on my smartphone while I wake and "make my peace with the world'.  What Mom taught me was that the quiet of the morning is a great place to start a day, and start caring for ourselves and others.

  In the quiet of the morning we are more able to hear our own thoughts as well as to be able to hear the thoughts of the Lord bringing peace, assurance, calm and direction for our day.  What might you be hearing this morning?  Where are your thoughts drawn to this day?

 For some it will be the habits of a  precious, living mother, for others it may be reflections on the amazing love of an adoptive or foster mother who helped make the word "mother" real for the first time, or thoughts of your own mom as you have taken on the role of mom for your own family,  for others it will be memories of a dear mother who has departed this life.  For some the thoughts today may not be easy or comfortable to recall:  reflections on a mom who gave over their child to be adopted for important and difficult reasons; or reflections of abuse or neglect at the hands of a parent. Or reflections of those who dearly wanted to become a mother but were unable to for challenging reasons, or the ache for someone to take care of us in a motherly way as we face our illness.

In the quiet of this morning my mind and heart are drawn to images from scripture that describe God in mother-like ways: the mother bear and the hen protecting her brood with her own body and life. No matter what our experience or memories of mother may be this day, we are loved tenderly and intimately by a God who seeks to still nurture and care for us today.  And like a tender, compassionate mom, God seeks to hear our thoughts and embrace us with love. 

As you may reflect upon what Mother's day means to you today, I invite you to share those thoughts with the Lord, to give thanks for the great examples of moms that you have experienced and also share the pain or loss that may surround this day for you.  If you wish to share any thoughts on this blog, or with me personally, you are always welcomed to do so.

Gentle, protective God,  this day we thank you for teaching us love through the examples of mothers,  and we thank you for loving us through times of illness and grief, joy and celebration.  Please be with us today and surround us with your loving arms.  Amen.