May 11, 2003

Mother’s Day

Psalm 23

John 10:11-18

 “The Lord Is My Shepherd - Where’s This Leading To?”

     In Erma Bombeck’s book, “Being a Mom Means You Have to Show Up”, she says this:

"The easiest part of being a mother is
giving birth. The hardest part is showing up for it each day."

 And of Mother’s Day she says,    

“This is traditionally the day when children give something back to their
mothers for all the spit they produced to wash dirty faces, all the old gum
their mothers held in their hands, all the noses and fannies that were
wiped, and all the bloody knees that were " made well" with a kiss. This is
the day mothers are rewarded for washing all those sheets in the middle of
the night, driving kids to school when they missed the bus and enduring all
the football games in the rain. It's appreciation day for making them finish
something, not believing them when they said, "I hate you," and for sharing
their good times and their bad times. Their cards probably won't reflect it,
but what they are trying to say is "Thank you for showing up."

      I thought it might be good to quote Erma Bombeck on this subject because she is…well, a she.  Being of the other gender, I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on motherhood.  To tell the truth, I’m not exactly an expert on fatherhood, either.  Kay and I mostly took the seat-of-the-pants approach to parenting.  We read a book or two and watched other parents, but that wasn‘t a lot of help.  We just knew we wanted to do at least as good a job of raising our children as our parents did with theirs (maybe better), but we weren’t sure just what it was they did. 

     I guess I was trying to untangle some squawking kids or something one day and my Father, ever the great philosopher, overheard my parental frustration and offered this simple advice: “Just love ‘em.”  Which makes me think he and Mom raised us by the seat-of-the-pants, too…and that we still turned out OK.  Love made up the difference.

     I don’t know where we got the unreasonable notion that we all have to be perfect mothers and fathers, or children for that matter.  Maybe it’s more important that we show up, that we are there for each other and trust that love can make up the difference. 

     I have a feeling the reason biblical writers so often used sheep as metaphors for the children of God is that sheep, like people, are good examples of imperfection.  Did you know that sheep have been domesticated for so long that they can’t survive without people taking care of them?  They need sheltered and fed and protected.  So too, we need God’s care.  We aren’t experts on everything.  We aren’t perfect.  Without God’s guidance, we get lost.  Without God’s forgiveness, we lose hope.  Without God’s saving love, we haven’t got a prayer.  We need the Good Shepherd, the One who cares for us, give his life for us and with perfect love, loves us in spite of our imperfections. 

     The 23^rd Psalm tells us the Good Shepherd has good plans for us - green pastures, still waters, right paths, protection through dark valleys and in the  end, a victory feast, goodness and mercy following us and an invitation to live forever with God.  I think this means we don’t have to stress out over trying to be perfect parents or perfect children or expecting others to be perfect because the Perfect One is looking out for us.  The Good Shepherd who knows the way knows what we need.

     So the Good News is this - we are liberated through the love of Jesus Christ.  We can be free from worry, worrying about being perfect, because the Savior’s love makes up the difference.  The Bible says we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free.  The truth is, God loves us through the Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is our Good Shepherd.

     So don‘t be so hard on yourself (or others)…the most important part is showing up, being there…for our children, for our spouses, for our friends, for each other.  Just love ‘em and trust that love will make up the difference.

     Kay and I are fortunate to still have our mothers in our lives, even if at a distance.  We’ll call them up today to let them know we are thinking about them.  We expect our children will probably be calling their mom, too.  This is a day for forgetting all the times we didn’t get it right and the times others didn’t get it right.  This is a day for just being thankful for the love we have had in our lives.  It is a day to be thankful for those who have been there for us, those who have shepherded us and thus have shown us something of God‘s love…a biological mother, an adoptive mother, a guardian, a grandparent, whoever made up the difference with their love for us.

     Like all metaphors, there’s a point where the sheep metaphor comes up short, for we are meant for more than this, more than being on the receiving end of divine blessings.  We are led to more than green pastures and still waters.  We are led to be shepherds, too, to lead others as we are led in the way of God’s love.  Jesus calls us to not only follow, but also to pick up the cross.  He said we are to baptize and teach the things he commanded us.  We are the sheep of his pasture, but also the shepherds he sends out to tend his flock.

     Remember Mom today - whoever served in that capacity in your life - and see if maybe you can be thankful for not only the things she did right, but also for her mistakes.  I say this because if love got through to you in spite of those imperfections, this means there just might be hope for you, too.