The Faithful Love That Enables Us To Love

Luke 15:20

"And he got up and came to his father, but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him, and kissed him."

Compassion.  Love.

The celebration of Mothers carries a tension of celebrating the life they give and yet, yet there is an ache that many carry. 

A mother's love.  The tender care, the listening ear.  The gift of loving the ones that call her mom.

As a mother I carry the joy of being able to love the three that call me mom.

There is also the ache.

Ache of mothers no longer here. Mothers that left. Women whose arms are vacant of little ones that define them as mothers. Women who remain unmarried.

I carry the ache of sorrow and grieve as I am imperfect and failed in so many ways the three that call me mom.

This day, this celebration holds both joy and sorrow, hopes fulfilled and the ache of unfulfilled desires.  The reality is, one may never birth a child and still be a mother.

God's heart of compassion is embodied in the arms of a mother.  He shows us truly how to love and it is as I receive His love that I can really love.  God loves. Simple as that.  It's revealed in the response of the story Jesus shared with the Pharisees and scribes that one day as the father runs to meet his child that brought so much grief and shame to him because of his choices.  A father running to embrace the lost son retuning.  A father seeing him afar off and runs is a father who cares and loves.

We can only love as we have learned to be loved.  Maybe earthly mothers missed the mark, but God never stops loving. 

Mother.  A name called by the ones in your care.

Mother.  I, who learn to walk in God's grace, His love, and forgiveness.

So, in this remembering our mothers and our own journey of mothering, whether you feel joy or ache with pain, and maybe it's both; may each of us know the love and compassion of Jesus today.

And to those women who are unmarried or never were able to birth a child, I want to remind you that the tension you carry is held in the hands of our Father and you can love and mother those around you.

My prayer is that each of us may learn to know God's love in deeper and deeper ways.  I pause a moment... to let this settle in... God is love and God loves.  He changes not.