Greetings everyone,
I pray that all you mothers had a great day yesterday. In fact, I just want to give a brief message today on this subject, motherhood.
Much of our society's problems today can be traced directly to the gradual breakdown of the family. This has been a downward spiral over the last 60-70 years. Of this, this must be said: None of this is due to our mothers. In fact, If not for the hard work of our mothers this situation would be much worse. So, my prayer for today, for all of us going forward, is for the continued strength of our mothers in trying to fill the gap that is so prevalent in so many families. This gap being created by the fathers who have gone missing from their family duty for whatever reason.
Now I am not here to lament the passing of the traditional family. You know me, I am not a whiner or complainer. God, in many instances, has replaced our families with a beautiful reconstruction. How can we complain when God gives us blended families, after previous families breakdown. One of God's greatest gifts is restoration. We see this restoration in many of our families today. I thank God for his reconstruction.
My family was an example of this. As many of you know, my mother died in 1973 after a 3-year struggle with cancer. As devastating as this was to me and my sister, we were blessed with a wonderful step-mom, who filled the gap admirably, our beloved Nana. I know that many of you have similar testimonies. Can we not praise God for this restoration? Of course we can, and we should.
My takeaway for each of us, as we are not getting younger (admit it), is this: Make a difference in your family, in your children, and others. Lovingly teach and mentor those around you. You may not know their backgrounds or needs. Sadly, no longer can we assume that those around us come from a traditional family background. I could argue that the exact opposite is true, that numbers reflect that a majority of us now come from broken families of some sort. This means that there are needs that are not being met. We can all help in some way to meet these unmet needs.
This means that we can become part of God's family reconstruction team. We can all be a part of this team. We just need to be cognizant of the needs around us and be able to be led by the Spirit to make a difference. Loving people is what the people of Jesus do.
Every day should be Mother's Day. Let's help our moms.
Do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God.
Blessings,
Thad Brown
Opportunity House
and Harmony UMC