It’s Mother’s Day: More than a Table, Give the Gift of Love

Hello Friends,

Today is a special day! Do you know what today is? That’s right, it’s Mother’s Day! Did you know that the first Mother’s Day was organized on May 10, 1908 in West Virginia and Pennsylvania by a woman named Anna Jarvis? Anna Jarvis’ mother took “care of soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, and worked to bridge divides between mothers from the North and South.” Then several years later on May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day to be a national holiday to honor mothers whose sons had died in war. Today, carnations are the official flower of Mother’s Day, which is why Mother’s Day is the third-highest selling holiday for florists—beat only be Valentine’s Day and Christmas.

Furthermore, just over a week ago, Time Magazine released an article that stated, “Consumers are expected to spend $33.5 billion on Mother’s Day this year.” And the age group expected to spend the most are those 35-44 years of age, budgeting $345.75 per mother. The article also shared, based upon statistics from Verizon, that in 2024, “Consumers used their phone networks 5.6% more on Mother’s Day than they did on Father’s Day…. Consumers spent 137.5 million more minutes or approximately 2.3 million hours on the phone on Mother’s Day compared to Father’s Day.” What are you doing to celebrate Mother’s Day?

On this day we are to pamper our mom’s in every way possible: give them breakfast in bed, cook for them, do the dishes, clean the house, do the laundry, go grocery shopping, don’t argue with our siblings, and make sure that we keep our mom happy. If you can’t do these things, that is okay because these gifts don’t measure up to the ultimate gift that we can give our mom. The best gift we can give her is the gift of love!

Since it is Mother’s Day, I want to share a story with you about my mom. The year was 2024, and Emily and I loaded our vehicle with several suitcases, plenty of snacks and drinks (running out of cup holders), and headed to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to enjoy a week-long vacation with my family. Keep in mind that was the first family vacation we have taken together since 2012. And we all stayed under the same roof for six days.

As we were planning the vacation, trying to plan as many things as possible in a six day time frame, my mom had one request—besides having a day with the grandkids—she asked, rather told us, that we would end the day together, as a family, around a table. That table sometimes was at a restaurant and other times at the cabin where we were staying. No matter which direction we went during the day, we would end the day together: eating, laughing, sharing stories, playing a few rounds of UNO, and making plans for the next day. All my mom wanted was for all her kids to be at the same table with her. In her own words, as she typically says when we all gather for holidays, “All my kids are home.”

On this Mother’s Day, I find myself asking, “Why? Why did my mom want us to end each day around the same table as her? She has seen us eat: we are not the most gracious eaters and sometimes our idea of passing food is to throw it to the other end of the table. Why was it so important that we gathered around the table together?” The more I think about this, the more I think about the best gift we could ever give our moms, and that is the gift of love. My mom wanted us all to gather together because she loved us, and around that table she felt loved.

A mother deserves our love because her love is unfailing (Isaiah 66:13), her faith is strong (Exodus 2:1-4), she is virtuous (Proverbs 31:25), she prays for us (1 Samuel 1:27), she provides us with lessons (Luke 1:38), she is nurturing (2 Timothy 1:5), she is our leader (Matthew 28:19-20), she offers us her gift of wisdom (Proverbs 1:8-9), she is a beacon of hope and light (Hebrews 11:11), she is compassionate (Colossians 3:12), she is a Godly role model for us to follow (Titus 2:3-5), she is an instrument of grace (Ephesians 4:32), she is steward of God’s gifts (Proverbs 22:6), she prays for her family (James 5:16), she is an ambassador of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), and she excels them all (Proverbs 31). Our mom’s desire our love–for us to sit with them around a table–because they are all these things and so much more; and she offers these gifts to us without seeking anything in return. Our mom deserves our love.

The Bible tells us that we are to honor our mother (and father) with love; and this love is defined by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the people of Corinth. Paul said that love never ends. When the breakfast is gone, love is still there. When the dishes are washed and the laundry folded, love is still there. When groceries are put away, love is still there. Love never ends and certainly doesn’t disappear. Love is the greatest gift we can give our mom on Mother’s Day because it will never go away and it is what she gives us each and every day! So on this Mother’s Day, give your mom a hug and tell her that you love her!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and mom-like figures out there! May the Lord bless their day with love, togetherness, and happiness!

Your Friend, Holy Spirit!