A mother's day prayer

MOTHERS: EVERY YEAR IS THEIR YEAR
author unknown
adapted by Dan Bottorff
Prayer for the Day 5-9-99
First United Methodist Church of Westfield

This blessing is for all the mothers who have sat up all night
with sick toddlers saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here."

This blessing is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they may
never see. And the mothers who took those babies-- forever to be
their own children.

This blessing is for all the mothers who attended ball games,
recitals, rehearsals, etc. etc. and who said, "I wouldn't have
missed it for the world," and meant it.

This blessing is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the
night and can't find their children or can’t feed their children.

Creator God, what makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience?
Firmness? A soft lap?

Or is mothering what is in her heart?

Is it the ache she feels when she watches her child disappear down
the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes her from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2
a.m. to put her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The need to flee from wherever she is and hug her child when she
hears news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

Yes it is so.

So this blessing is for all the mothers who sat down with their
children and explained all about making babies. And for all the
mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.

This blessing is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in
the grocery store with frustration and despair.

This blessing is for the mothers who show up at work with milk
stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This blessing is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook
and their daughters to speak up with pride.

This blessing is for mothers who put pinwheels, teddy bears, or
flowers on their children's graves.

This blessing is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who
haven’t the words to reach them, and yet have never put them from
their heart.

This blessing is for new mothers stumbling through diaper
changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let
go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers
and married mothers.

And this blessing is for all of us who will move beyond
sentiment into actions which support mothers and mothering persons
in all of their life-giving and life-nurturing roles. Amen