Shouldn't everyday be Mother's Day?

This Sunday is a special day for the Mother’s in our midst. 

Now that both my children are married, I share Mother’s Day with two amazing woman (Sandy and Liz), who raised some exceptionally wonderful children. So, I will not have my babies all to myself as in earlier years and there is a part of me, if I am completely honest, that is a little sad. 

And then I started wondering: Why?  Why should I feel sad?  Had I too, bought into the whole Mother’s Day consumer madness? Did I feel bad because all the commercials on TV and store flyers at my door tell me that my children should be with me on this day? Not just with me, but showering me with adoration, cards and gifts? And if they are not with me, like the TV ads suggest, is something wrong with me?  Am I not a good mother?

Good Grief!

So how did it all start? 

I decided to do a Google search on the origins of this “special” day, and what I found was rather surprising.

You probably know that Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. But did you know Mother’s Day was proclaimed a national holiday in the United States by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914?

It seems that the woman who began Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis, did so in honour of her own mother who had passed away two years earlier. In 1908 Jarvis held a service in West Virginia which so moved her that she embarked on a national campaign to have the country honour the many contributions that mother’s make.  

By 1914 Mother’s Day had generated such momentum and President Wilson agreed to Jarvis’ request to set aside a day each year to honour our mothers. 

Here’s the interesting part. Anna Jarvis was horrified by what Mother’s Day had become. Jarvis felt that companies had exploited the idea of Mother's Day, which was to be about sentiment, not profit. I read that she was so enraged by the commercialism that in 1923 she filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother’s Day festival. She was later arrested for disturbing the peace when she learned that a war mother’s convention was selling white carnations—Jarvis’ symbol for mothers—to raise money. “This is not what I intended,” Jarvis said. “I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit!”

I believe dear Anna Jarvis was right.

Jarvis had apparently started something that she could not stop. It was reported that she died at 84, never a mother herself, and that she spent most of the fortune her own mother left her to fight a holiday she created to honour her.

I hope I don’t sound cynical but Mother’s day is a fabricated day. Shouldn’t every day be Mother’s Day? I am not saying this because I am blessed to be a mother, or because I am the daughter of an amazing mother, or because I may not be with my kids on this day. 

Scripture tells us:  Honour your father and your mother (Exodus 20:12).  I don’t read, “Honour them once a year, or when it’s convenient.”  Honour them always! All the time!

I don’t need a card to tell my mother I love and appreciate her.  I just need to look her in the eyes and tell her. 

Likewise, I don’t need my kids to buy me stuff. I’m sure they will be relieved, and maybe even surprised to read this, but all I need is for them to just say they love me and appreciate me. Not just on the second Sunday in May, but often.  Dare I say, everyday   ;)

“May she who gave you birth be joyful!”, Proverbs 23:25.

Wave those palm fronds!

It was Palm Sunday and because of a sore throat, 5-year-old Johnny stayed home from church with a sitter. When the family returned home, they were carrying several palm fronds. Johnny asked them what they were for.    "People held them over Jesus' head as he walked by," his father told him.    "Wouldn't you know it," Johnny fumed, "the one Sunday I don't go and he shows up."

Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.  The gospels record the arrival of Jesus riding into the city on a donkey, while the crowds spread their cloaks and palm branches on the street shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”.  With excitement they honour him as their long-awaited Messiah and King. 

On Sunday you too, will have the opportunity to wave palm fronds. The children and youth have a wonderful presentation prepared. It will be an exciting morning! 

Did you know that Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week? Holy Week is that special week in the church year that leads up to Easter. 

During HOLY week:  

• All week long a Prayer Labyrinth will be set up in the Fellowship Hall (lower level). This is a wonderful time for you, alone, or with your family to walk on the mat. It is meant to be a reflective time for you to pray and hear from God. If you are new to this amazing prayer resource take a look at this video for information on what a Labyrinth is, its history and how to walk it.

• On Thursday we celebrate Maundy Thursday, the day that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. This year we will gather for a Prayer Walk. Join us as we do a short walk around the neighbourhood, praying for our community and our world. We are then invited back to the church building for a Hymn Sing. Check the website or our weekly Newsletter for times.

• We also remember Good Friday, the day Jesus died on the cross for our sins. We invite you to join us at 11 a.m. for a powerful, reflective service. Later that evening join us for Movie Night where we watch the story of Easter.

• And then, on Sunday we celebrate Resurrection Sunday or Easter Sunday. We will begin at 10:40 a.m with a fun Easter Egg Hunt for the children (young and old ;). Then at 11a.m. we will celebrate that He is Risen! (He is Risen indeed!). Join us for Refreshments immediately following the service in the Fellowship Hall.

The most important thing Jesus ever did to rescue our world happened this week - that’s what makes this week “Holy”.

Join us as we reflect and prepare our hearts for the agony of His Passion and the joy of His Resurrection.

It all begins this Sunday as we wave those palm fronds!

You'll be glad you did.

On Sunday we started a new sermon series called “Famous Last Words” and we tackled the first words Jesus uttered on the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

We looked at these powerful words of forgiveness but more specifically, how do we forgive like Jesus?  If you weren’t there on Sunday, check it out.

It shouldn’t surprise me but after the service I heard from so many of how the sermon had spoken to them.  It was a simple message of how and why we are to forgive.  Simple, however you and I both know how hard it can be to forgive sometimes, especially forgiving someone who has deeply hurt us or someone we love.

And yet, forgiveness is the heart of God’s good news for us.  Perhaps forgiving others would be easier if we truly understood what God has done for us.  God freely forgives us, and I wonder if we really take that in? How often do we turn a blind eye to that amazing truth?

I read this interesting story about an attorney, who after meditating on several Scriptures, (like Matthew 6:14-15; Ephesians 4:32) decided to cancel the debts of all his clients that had owed him money for more than 6 months. 

He drafted a letter explaining his decision and its Biblical basis and sent 17 debt canceling letters via certified mail. 

One by one, the letters were returned by the Postal Service, unsigned and undelivered. 

Perhaps a couple people had moved away though not likely. Sixteen of the seventeen letters came back to him because the clients refused to sign for and open the envelopes fearing that this attorney was suing them for their debts. 

How profound! We owe a debt for our sin and God is willing to cancel it but how many of us will not even open the letter that explains how?

Today, take a moment to remember what God has done for you.  Ask God to fill you with love for those who have offended you, pray for them and forgive as you have been forgiven.  

You will be glad you did.