May 11, 2002

The late Erma Bombeck always had such a wonderful way of seeing the humor in motherhood which she referred to as "The second oldest profession." "Working mothers?" she would say, "All mothers are 'working mothers.'" Some mothers work inside the home and some work outside the home, but ALL mothers are working mothers.

In a survey of U. S. work habits: Forty percent of the men said they work more than 40 hours a week. Twenty-one percent of the men said they work more than 50 hours a week. And working mothers were too busy to answer the survey.

Sunday is Mother's Day. All of us will be thinking of that one who filled a care-giving role in our lives. For some this will be the one who gave birth to us. For others it will be an adoptive mother. For some, the care-giver was a grandparent, a step-mother, or someone else who stepped in and was present for us when our birth-mother was unable to fill her role.

I am amazed at the number of grandmothers in our area who are filling the role of mother. In some cases, death robs children of their parents and the grandparents are the only family members able to take on the task. In other cases, parents are unable to complete their parenting task. Sometimes it is a case of substance abuse, or for some other reason, the parent is unable to assume responsibility for the life of another. In any case, my "hat goes off" to those grandparents involved in "parenting a second time around." A mother is someone who writes a check with her heart and then simply does whatever is necessary to cash it.

Several years ago, I asked the first and second graders of my church to finish this sentence, "A mother is someone who..." With out exception, the completion of the sentence involved some caring act the child perceived as valuable. Here are some of the answers as I remember them: "...takes care of you when you are sick." "...bakes cookies." "...gives kisses and hugs." "...says prayers with you."

It seems to me that mothers should be honored even if they were not our primary care-givers. One of our three children is adopted and there are two times a year when we honor...are thankful for...pray for our daughter's birth-mother. One of those days is our daughter's birthday. We are rather certain that this day is etched indelibly on some mother's mind, besides the one our daughter calls, "Mom." And of course the other is "Mother's Day." Choosing to carry to term and give birth is to give the gift of life. This choice is always accompanied by certain costs to a woman who finds herself with an unplanned pregnancy. We are thankful for the daughter God placed in our home and for whom He gave us care-giving responsibilities. On Mother's Day we will pray for the one who gave her life.

Mother's Day - a time for high-lighting and honoring - it's a good idea! Make sure that the one you call "Mother" knows you appreciate her.