To All The Haters of Mother’s Day

      Mother’s Day can be a source of pain for many.  I’ve always loved Mother’s Day because I have been blessed with a beautiful mother and best friend.  I thank God for her everyday.  But this Mother’s Day I have become keenly aware of people who dread this very day because their mothers are no longer with them or because their mothers were not exactly loving and supportive.  Let me say that I cannot begin to feel their pain.  However, as I was praying for a family this morning who lost their dear mother this Spring, I was brought back to the title of this blog, “Finding the Joy”.  Finding the joy in life is easy when things are going well.  We can see the smiles on our childrens’ faces,  the beauty in a rainbow, and the melody of a well orchestrated concerto.  It is when things are not going as we had hoped or planned that our sources of joy seem to disappear.  In truth, they are still out there, but in our sadness we stop looking for them.  James 1:2 says that “when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”  Does this verse mean that God wants us to put a smile on our face and “fake it ‘til we make it?”  Not really.  What it does mean is that with every sadness there is an opportunity to find some joy.  If you are missing a loved one today, spend the day remembering and cherishing the moments you had with that loved one while she was here.  Thankfulness is tremendous medicine for depression! 

     On this Mother’s Day I would like to leave you with a thought that blessed me this morning in church.  This thought came from a song that the choir sang called “Orphans of God” by Joel Lindsey and Twila LeBar.  I remember a dear friend confiding in me that after her mother and father had both passed she felt like an orphan.  Maybe you feel like that today.  If there is no other source of joy for you today, find your joy in this… “There are no ophans of God!”  He never leaves his children alone.

Who here among us has not been broken?

Who here among us is without guilt or pain?

So oft abandoned by our transgressions,

If such a thing as grace exists, then grace was made for lives like this.

There are no strangers,  There are no outcasts,

There are no orphans of God.

So many fallen , but hallelujah,

There are no orphans of God.

Come ye unwanted and find affection.

Come all ye weary, come and lay down your head.

Come ye unworthy, you are my brother.

If such a thing as grace exists, then grace was made for lives like this!

There are no strangers,  There are no outcasts,

There are no orphans of God.

So many fallen , but hallelujah,

There are no orphans of God.