When Mother’s Day Isn’t Happy by Emily House
There are a lot of emotions surrounding Mother’s Day. For many, it’s a beautiful day—and I love that for them. Truly, I do. My hope for you is that you’re not even reading this. I hope most people saw the title and kept scrolling because they don’t relate. But if you are reading this, it’s likely because you, like me, have a complicated relationship with this day.
My tendency is to just hide and let it pass. Don’t be a downer, let the happy people have the day. After all, it’s just one day, right? Not for me—and probably not for you.
This day can feel like the twisting of a knife of pain we’ve grown accustomed to—just reminding you it’s still there, as if we could forget. Or it can feel like a spotlight on what we try so hard to hide or mask. I could go on and on about how or why this day is painful, but I won’t. We all know our why too well.
My hope for you today is that you offer that pain as a sacrifice to God.
The opportunity we have is unique. Today, we get to share in just a fraction of the cost.
We get to come to Him in our depths—in our despair, in our pain, in our sorrow, in our anger, in our frustration, in our why—and we get to praise Him in it.
We get to cry out from the depths of our souls to the only One who truly understands and welcomes us.
We get the God that promises comfort in Matthew 5:4. We get to live out 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
We experience John 16:33.
We claim Joshua 1:9.
Today, we get to experience God in an intimate way because of this pain. The enemy wants us to focus on what’s missing today. But God says,
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. — 2 Corinthians 12:9
My hope for us today is that we unmask, step into the light, acknowledge the pain, and offer it to the only One who can bring true comfort and peace. Today gets to be hard—but it also gets to be worth it. We have the beautiful and messy opportunity to praise in the pain and worship in the valley. We give God the mess and trust He’ll work it for our good and His glory.
We raise our hands not because we feel like it, but because we have a God who meets us where we are and promises us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. — Romans 8:18
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