Why should we celebrate Mother’s Day? Often, I see Christians wanting to do away with the holiday all together.  This is due to either pain caused by the loss of a child, trouble conceiving, or losing their own mother. Other reasons could be that there are children in your kids church that don’t have a mother and it’s painful for those littles and the dads who cannot provide this.

I understand that there is pain in our congregations.  I get it.  However, this is not a time to ignore pain.  Perhaps it’s a time to offer some hope to those who are wanting to forget the day.  I plea to you, celebrate Mother’s Day.  Here are 5 reasons I think we as the church should be celebrating:

• We are not gender neutral. Last week I saw a comment on a pastor’s page that stated, “I don’t like celebrating someone because of their gender.” Now, I had to think about this a moment. I can see her point; however, I don’t think this is the Lord. We live in a culture that says men should be more like women and women like men. We live in a culture that believes gender isn’t given but is because of society.  Those people aren’t parents.  If you have at least one of each gender you know there is a HUGE difference.  When you study the brains of each gender, you will marvel at how God created us differently. Why not be excited about being a woman?  Why not be excited about being a man? The devil wants nothing more than to take away what God has created. As Lisa Bevere says, “You are not a problem, you are an answer.”  This is true for both sexes.  Celebrate it!

• All women are called to be spiritual mothers. Yes, there are women sitting in our worship centers that are not mothers.  Whether by default or choice.  However, the bible instructs us as women to raise up the younger women and teach them.  If you have no children, think again.  God has placed many in front of you that need spiritual guidance.  When Moses instructed the Israelites in Exodus how to raise children, he was speaking to EVERYONE, not just the parents.  Encourage your child-free friends to be proactive at spiritual mothering.  Whether they like it or not, they are influencing someone.

• Everyone needs a spiritual mother. Encourage those that have no mother to honor the ‘mother’ that God has placed in their life.  There are many grandmothers, aunts, sisters, etc. who are stepping in to help those of all generations have feminine influence.  One of our church’s single dads tagged me in a post of his daughter singing a worship song at her public-school talent show.  She wanted ME tagged!  She wanted ME to see her perform! It was one of the many defining moments in my life of God telling me- you’re like a mother to this motherless child. WOW. She may not have her mother in her life, but God is providing.

• There is hope. We need to acknowledge hurt, not sweep it under the rug. Our pastor’s wife has done this when she preaches and so have I.  Start out your sermons acknowledging the hurts in the room, but that there is a Holy Spirit that brings comfort to those hurts.  There is a Holy Spirit who wants to bring hope in their dark place.  Don’t ignore the hurt, bring hope to it.

• Ladies forward to it! When we include all women in our Mother’s Day services we bring excitement!  There is so much disunity among women in our culture that the church should be an example of unifying! It’s a time they look forward to a service that is just for them.  And quite frankly, it’s fun!  Handing out flowers, treating them to special chocolate, or whatever you do.

I’m not trying to tell you how to run your church or your services.  But this is my plea to you, celebrate all women at your church on Mother’s Day.  Make it a fun day for all of those who are hurting and those who are not.

How does your church do Mother’s Day? Comment below!