Mothering Sunday: A chance to celebrate mothers and consider the implications of mothering for mission

One of the things that I love most about being a Mum is receiving hand delivered tokens of love. I have kept notes from my now-teenagers, one of whom, at six, declared they loved me nearly as much as their favorite toy. I have photos of a special stick found ‘just for me’ by a sweet little redheaded boy who is now as tall as I am. 

And I remember the Mother’s Day weekend where a precious young person who was with us went missing and how it felt when we found them - relief that they were safe and heartache because of what they were experiencing. We sat on the steps near the park for a long time that Sunday. Some of it in silence, some of it laughing as we played ‘guess the colour of the jelly bean’ and sometimes I simply absorbed their anger and pain. 

As a Mother’s Day experience, it wasn’t very instagrammable and if I’m honest I might have chosen lunch out somewhere other than a local park. In the midst of this messy day there were glimpses of joy and important moments of connection but I’m not sharing the memory because there was a ‘happy’ ending but because it was one of the most significant mothering moments I’ve had - deeply costly and a huge privilege.