HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

In honor of all who have mothered, are mothering, and who have been mothered, I quote Stasi Eldredge in her book-let, You Are Captivating:

"I briefly want to speak to all women here - not just mothers in the traditional sense of the word. As powerful as the role of mother is, the word mother is much more powerful when used as a verb instead of a noun. Now, not all women are mothers, but as image bearers of God, all women are uniquely called to mother.

As daughters of Eve, all women are gifted to help others in our lives become more of who they truely are - to encourage, nurture, and mother them toward their true selves. In doing this, women partner with Christ in the vital mission of bringing forth life. And all women are life-givers.

The impact on a life that has been seen and called out is dramatic and eternal. The nurturing of life is a high and holy calling and as a woman, it is yours. Yes, it has many shapes and myriad faces. Yes, men are called to this as well. But this calling makes up part of the very fiber of a woman's soul.

You can mother other people's children. In truth, our world needs you to. My friend Lori's house was the center of activity while her girls were still in school. Their friends loved to hang out at her house. She offered them life. She counseled them. She encouraged them. She mothered them with love and strength. She also baked them fabulous treats. She has played and continues to play a major role in many young women's lives, impacting them for good; calling them forth to become who they are meant to be.

We mother each other when we offer our concern, our care, our comfort. We mother each other when we see a need and rise to meet it, whether the need is a sweater for a friend who is chilly, a meal to a struggling family, or a listening ear to a friend who is hurting.

All women are called to mother. And all women are called to give birth. Women give birth to all kinds of things: to books, to churches, or to ministries. To ideas, to creative expressions, to movements. We birth life in others by inviting them into deeper realms of healing, to deeper walks with God, to deeper intimacy with Jesus. A woman is not less of a woman because she is not a wife or has not physically borne a child. The heart and life of a woman is much more vast than that. All women are made in the image of God in that we bring forth life. When we offer our tender and strong feminine hearts to the world and to those we love, we cannot help but mother them."

Happy Mother's Day to all women. May we continue to rise up and answer the call to bring God's healing to this world. Enjoy the day!

~Jen