So here we are… it is Mother’s Day.

A day to celebrate Mothers, it is one of the most celebrated holidays in the US. Some fun statistics here:

Total amount of money spent on Mother’s Day Cards annually – $671 million
Total average amount of money the average person will spend on gifts of their mom on mother’s day- $126.90
Total amount of money spent on flowers for their mothers on mother’s day – $1.9 billion
Total amount of money that will be spent for mothers on Mothers Day – $14.6 billion

And hey- if you are planning on taking Mom out to eat… so is everyone else in the world… restaurants, a meal out, is one of the favorite gifts to give mom for her special day.

I find myself this morning with a message to share with you. Maybe it was because someone called me “SuperMom”… maybe because God has been nudging my heart for weeks.

Sometimes for us Moms… well, Mother’s Day is kind of an awkward thing. People you don’t even know wish you “Happy Mother’s Day.” Sometimes in church they ask all the Mother’s to stand for applause (and don’t you know that is right when your beloved little cherubs are picking their nose or hitting each other).

Ann Voskamp spoke the words for me on the awkwardness of Mother’s Day when she writes:
“Why Mother’s Day Is Really Just For the Birds

Because I ain’t no Hallmark mother –
and none of us are, if we’re really truth-telling here.
The deal is — Motherhood isn’t sainthood and we’re all a bunch of sinners here and don’t let anyone tell you any different — pushing something out of your womb doesn’t make you a better woman.

Real Womanhood isn’t a function of becoming a great mother, but of being loved by your Great Father. Someone write that on a card with a bouquet of flowers. We all need that.”

See there are no SuperMoms…

You don’t have to be the perfect picture of a Hallmark Mother… that isn’t what Motherhood is all about. Motherhood offers us the chance, the opportunity, the responsibility… in our frail, human form that so often comes up short, to turn to our Wonderful Loving Heavenly Father and accept his lavish love and share that love with the gifts he’s entrusted us with on this earth.

“Real Womanhood isn’t a function of becoming a great mother, but of being loved by your Great Father.”

And this Mother’s Day my heart goes out to some that we might otherwise easily forget…

Because there are some amongst us that carry a burden, a mother shaped hole today, and well, every day. And often, the truth is, we can’t see it.

‘Cause sometimes, whether we see a woman with 6 children in tow or woman with none… there are Mothers among us missing a child.
Children taken too soon. Sometimes we are afraid to mention a child that has been lost because we are afraid to make the mother sad by reminding her that the child died… but we mother’s don’t forget.

So today, to the mothers with a “Mother shaped hole”, maybe made by a child that didn’t live long enough, or a mother that passed away too soon… saying Happy Mother’s day isn’t meant to make you sad, but to remember that they lived.

Oh, I agree with Ann Voskamp so much, Mother’s Day is for the birds… because the truth is we all are flying.

“flying on the wings of His grace and a prayer.”

So to you Mothers, no matter the number, no matter the genetics, no matter the reason…

I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day!