Mother's Day thoughts

 Several weeks ago, Kaitlyn and I took a tour of the Meramec Caverns. While we took our tour, I was nervous because the water on both sides of our walkway seemed exceptionally deep. I had visions of losing my cell phone in it, or of the little toddler in front of me tumbling under the handrail. You could see what appeared to be huge rocky valleys under the surface of the water, plunging hundreds of feet. Toward the end of the tour, our guide explained that the water was actually just a few inches deep. What we were seeing, in the dim light of the cave, was a fantastic optical illusion. Those deep, rocky valleys were actually just a reflection of the top of the cave!

For many of us, the character of God is reflected very vividly in our mothers. When we think of our mothers, we see God’s unconditional love; His patience; His gentleness; His attention to our needs; His provision; and His great sacrifice. But for others, that reflection is missing. Because of the complexities of life, sometimes children feel that their section of the cave floor is dry. They peer down at a muddy floor, and there is no breath-taking reflection looking back up at them. They search for the character of God in a mother, but maybe their mother was taken from them in infancy, or maybe she was absent emotionally, leaving her children wondering if she truly cared.

If your Mother’s Day is complicated by absence, rejection, and disappointment, I want to encourage you with this thought: When the reflection of God’s unconditional love is missing in the people in your life, look up at the original. God’s unconditional love is still spectacular and breath-taking, even when human relationships fail to reflect it properly.

“When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.” Psalm 27:10