Mother’s Day Can Bring Joy Or Sadness

Mother’s Day Is A Different Experience For All Of Us

Traditionally Mother’s Day provides a great opportunity for families to honour and show love and appreciation to the mothers in our lives who raised us. Mothers nurture, love and care for us from pregnancy, birth, growing up, as adolecents, young adults and throughout our adult life they continue to play a vital supportive guiding role.

The History Of Mother’s Day

Anna Marie Jarvis from the US originally started Mother’s Day at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton West Virginia on May 10, 1908. By the 1920’s Mother’s Day became commercialised in the Untied States.

The establishment of Mother’s Day in Australia is credited to Janet Heyden, from Leichardt in Sydney who began collecting gifts for lonely aged mothers in 1924.

What Mother’s Day Is Like for Me

My mother and I share a birthday. During my childhood we always joked about being twins, only I was 22 years younger. Each year honouring my mother on her special day was something I looked forward to. Mum loved ceramics and for many years I saw the many gifts I’d given her over the years on Mother’s Day displayed at home in her china cabinet. The ceramic swan and the cup and saucer set inscribed with a Mother’s Day poem I’d purchased from a school fete were treasured. As a mother myself, I treasure the love shown to me by my family. They may take me out for a meal or for a long drive in the countryside or along the coast or both and I receive a bunch of beautiful seasonal flowers. We visit my mother inlaw and sometimes we have a barbecue at home to celebrate all the mother’s on both sides of the family, as the family network has significantly grown over the years. The bottom line is that this day is all about family for us.

My Mother’s Day Reflection

During Mother’s Day I also stop to think of those who didn’t grow up with their biological mother in the family home and I’m grateful for having my mother around for as long as I have. We can use this Mother’s Day to reflect on our blessings and take a survey of the many women around us for whom Mother’s Day may be a very different experience from the one we’re accustomed to.

Many women feel invisible in their own homes; they can also be feeling heartbroken, unloved, neglected and disrespected. Some women carry the trauma of domestic violence and others have lost a child, a relative, a friend, a spouse or a parent. Then there’s the barren woman who has been told she will never be able to have children of her own.

Countless people male and female carry a tremendous sense of loss and to them; Mother’s Day is just another painful reminder. We can pray for them and for those who wish their mother was still alive to celebrate this day with. We can also take on a proactive role by helping people who are experiencing intense sadness or grief. Take a moment to check on a friend, on a neighbour or a relative who isn’t going to be doing so well on this day.

Christians who are passionate about seeing others being set free can equip themselves with knowledge and the skills to support others who are facing difficult seasons in their lives.

Want to help others who are hurting?

Learn to confidently provide spiritual, emotional and mental health support to others by gaining counselling skills. Equip yourself to address the myriad of issues vast amounts of people face daily. Study our accredited and contextualised counselling courses that won’t contradict the bible. The CHC51015 Diploma of Counselling provides church leaders, clergy and all Christians over 18 years of age with counselling skills and ethical boundaries. Book a face to face information session, download the course guide and enrol online.

Sandra Ciminelli
Cred.Dip.Couns.(Christian)

Read about the History of Mother’s Day on the ABC News, ‘A History Of Mother’s Day; From campaigns for peace to cards, flowers and family reunions.