I ran into the grocery store this morning to pick up some fancy gluten free frozen pizza for dinner because sometimes that's what I can get on the table at the end of a day filled with homeschooling kids and a special needs son who forgot his lunch and a tire that had a bolt in it and needed patching and tennis lessons. The tennis lessons aren't difficult, but they fall right at dinner time. So, frozen pizza for the win.
I was hurrying past the greeting card section when it occurred to me that this coming Sunday is Mother's Day, probably my least favorite day of the year. If it fell on a weekday and I had a mammogram scheduled the same day, that might make it slightly worse, but only slightly. Mother's Day is a lousy substitute for real life joy.
In case you want to link-hop, I've written a bit on the topic of lowering our expectations, and suffice it to say that in terms of expectations, Mother's Day is the, well, Queen Mother of unmet expectations.
And the pressure! Holy smokes. If you want a snapshot of the pressure placed on mothers to be beacons of light and glory to their children, just take a look at Mother's Day cards:
Seriously??? If I'm the glue that holds this family together, we are in BIG trouble, people. On any given day I could be a dried up glue stick in the corner of the floor under the table or Gorilla Glue, and there's no telling which days will be which. I don't want to be the glue. I'll let God be the glue.
Really? REALLY??? A thousand things are passing through my head as I write this, but let's just default to actual theology and say that yes, indeed, God can be everywhere. Sheesh.
No comment.
The picture's blurry but I think you can see why I took it. $9. NINE DOLLARS. I love you, kids, but that's nine dollars that's eventually going to end up in my office trash can.
I almost peed my pants when I saw this one. At least now we're being truthful.
And then I hung my head and shook it when I saw this one, until I opened it . . .
. . . and then I bought it. Yes I did.
Look, no matter if you get a card at all for Mother's Day, no matter if it's hand-drawn on construction paper or cost someone $9 (NINE DOLLARS!!!), remember that your worth and value as a mother has absolutely nothing to do with that card or the giver of that card. The day is not a success or failure based on what someone did or didn't do for you.
And that's exactly why Mother's Day cards can be the worst. There's so much at stake if we let there be. Don't. Wake up on Sunday knowing Whose you are and what He did for you, and let all the rest go. It will be the best Mother's Day ever.
