Held with bands of human kindness and cords of love

On this day, I think of and am grateful for all the wonderful women who have loved me, mothered me and enriched my life in so many countless ways. My mother, mother-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins and wonderful and amazing friends, both old and new. 

But today I have a special sense of sadness and depth of love for those for whom this day is especially difficult. 

For those mothers who have lost a child. 

For those children who have lost their mother. 

For those women who want to be mothers. 

For those mothers estranged from their children and those children estranged from their mothers. 

To you, sitting in the church pew this morning, missing your mom who you have lost, I see you. 

To you who couldn’t come to church because you couldn’t take one more person telling you Happy Mothers Day and opening up painful wounds, I see you. 

To you who are so busy making sure today is a great day for your mother, and mother-in-law, and wondering if this day will ever get to be about you, I see you. 

To you who have never known the unconditional love of an earthly mother, I see you. 

To you whose arms ache for a child lost through death or broken relationship, or a child dreamed of but never experienced, I see you. 

To everyone who just wants this day to be over, I see you.   

And most importantly, God sees you. And in her mothering care, she loves you. In your loss and in your pain, she sees you. And she cherishes you. 

Know that you are held close. You are loved. And you are never forgotten. 

You are held with bands of human kindness and cords of love. 

Always.