1 Timothy 5:2 – and treat older women as you would your own mother. Show the same respect to younger women that you would to your sister.

Gratitude Day 941

This is Mother’s Day weekend; a weekend that we remember and honor our Mom’s. Years ago, I read that the most phone calls of the year are made on Mother’s Day. People want to say “Hi” to their Mom or grandma or another special woman in their life and we do it the old-fashioned way; with a phone call.

This is the time of year I associate with the wildflower trillium. These shade-loving flowers have three white petals. While protected, if they grow on your land, you can pick them. On Mother’s Day, my sisters and I would pick ice cream buckets of trillium. They grew almost like a blanket in the woods on our farm. We didn’t really have money to get our mom a Mother’s Day present. We picked her trillium instead.

To this day, I look for trillium. Yesterday, a friend took me for a drive through rural Wisconsin on the way to an Amish greenhouse. As we rounded through roads that would qualify as a scenic drive, when there were woods, I looked for the tri-tipped flowers. Sure enough. They are blooming.

While we call this Sunday Mother’s Day, I think it’s a day and an opportunity to say “thank you” to any woman who has made an impression in our lives. Maybe it’s an aunt, a teacher, a friend, a sister, a grandmother or someone else who has just been super supportive and loved you through all the wonderful and challenging times of your life.

As wonderful as Mother’s Day is for many, there are also a whole bunch of people for whom Mother’s Day is a struggle. Those who have lost a child. Those who do not have children. People whose mother has passed on. Unfortunately, there are children who have a challenging relationship with their mother or feel abandoned by their mother. There are those women who have miscarried babies or do not feel appreciated and loved by their children. Maybe a strained relationship right now makes Mother’s Day feel difficult and challenging. There are many reasons why Mother’s Day is not always a fun day beyond what I have shared.  

My best suggestion?

Be kind this Mother’s Day.

Be kind to those women you will see who may or may not be a mother.

Extend compassion to those who may want to be alone this weekend. Invite them for coffee or a walk, and if they decline, accept their choice.

Mother’s Day is not just for biological mothers but any woman who has left her fingerprints on your life. Appreciate her and the blessings you have benefitted from.

Accept that for every woman, Mother’s Day is not the best day of the year … and let their feelings be validated.

My sister Debbie is a florist. Often I have helped her in the days leading up to Mother’s Day. A few years ago, a rough-and-gruff kind-of guy came into my sister’s flower shop. He wanted to know if I thought he should get his wife something for Mother’s Day. In the last 20 years, he had only gotten her something three other times on Mother’s Day and wondered if he should this year.

I told him to “buy the flowers.” Not because I just wanted to make a sale, but because women want to be appreciated. He commented that his wife feels flowers don’t last and are too expensive. My response was that I hoped she would enjoy them for the next week, and they would be a daily reminder of how much he appreciated her.

He bought the flowers. A very nice arrangement that I hope she loves.

Don’t we all want to feel appreciated? Loved? Special? Whether it’s Mother’s Day or not?

Let’s be kind this Mother’s Day. To ourselves and to each other.

For the opportunity to be kind to people I love and appreciate, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Living God – Thank you for the women You have brought into my life that have guided me, encouraged me, supported me and loved me. May I appreciate them this weekend, whether alive or not. May we be kind to the women around us this weekend and love them where they are. Amen.

Daily, I share a simple affirmation. Look for them on Facebook at Dianne Deaton Vielhuber or Simple Words of Faith. On Instagram, I can be found at @diannedeatonvielhuber.

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