My Mother's Day

We kept Mother's Day very simple here. No presents (for me, we sent presents to our mums in Australia), just a ride to a fancy coffee shop for morning tea after church.

I've tended to keep my expectations low in recent years. Not because my family doesn't love me, but because, well, unmet expectations just leads to disappointment. I found a more positive way of looking at Mother's Day (and my birthday) in this article I saw on FB yesterday. 

It talks about how Mother's Day shouldn't be a day when we expect to be compensated for all the sacrificing we do all the other days of the year, it's not a day for payback. "If our identity is tied to how well we're appreciated, we're setting ourselves up for disappointment."

If our identity is bound up with our to-do list, then appreciation will help for a bit, but not in the long run. Our identity is more stable if we remember it's not about who we are and what we do, but about who Jesus is. It's easier to have an incredible Mother's Day if we "stand in awe of the One who made [us] a mother." 

So today I've just been simply grateful for the blessings I've been given. 

I know that many desire to be a mother, but aren't able. I'm thankful I have kids, even though that too is often a painful, difficult job. 

I know that many have had kids that they no longer have the privilege of still having with them today (be they not on this earth any more, or they've lost contact with their kids for whatever reason etc.). I'm thankful my kids are all living and here with me for now. Next year I won't have all my kids at home anymore, one will be in Australia, Lord willing.

I know that many, many are missing their own mums today. While my own mum is now with me today, she is still alive and I'm looking forward to seeing her in just nine days!

But most of all I'm thankful that God is faithful (and this is the third main point of the article I've linked to above), he is faithful in providing me with the energy and wisdom each day to be a mum to these intelligent, active, not-perfect boys. He's kept me (and them) alive thus far. He's given me a husband to help me be the best mum I can be and he's also still with me. And, even—God's with me every day. 

So it doesn't matter that there was grumbling about the length of the ride to the coffee shop. That there were complaints about how little food we got for our money (fancy coffee shop!). It doesn't matter that I did most of the chores I usually do. I had a good Mother's Day and it didn't depend on the people I share my life with.