SEASONS OF LIFE

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL

SEASONS OF LIFE

READ:
Luke 2:6-7, 25-35

To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under
heaven.  - Ecclesiastes 3:1

When I was a pastor, I served many women who were moms.  I called on them in the hospital and rejoiced with them for their precious babies who had come into the world.  I counseled with anxious mothers and tried to assure them that God was watching over their rebellious teenagers.  I stood with mothers at the bedside of injured or ill children and felt their pain.  And I cried with them in their grief when their son or daughter died.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, also experienced times of joy and sorrow.  What joy she must have felt when the Christ-child was born! (Luke 2:7).  What excitement when the shepherds and later the wise men came to worship Him (vv.8-20); Matthew 2:1-12).  What uneasiness when Simeon prophesied that a sword would pierce her soul (Luke 2:35).  And what heart-wrenching grief as Mary watched her Son dying on the cross! (John 19:25-30).  But her seasons of being a mother didn't end with that terrible scene.  She rejoiced that He rose from the grave.

Mothers, and all of us for that matter, experience many great joys and intense sorrows.  But when we submit our lives to the Lord, every season of life can serve His eternal purposes.  -Herb Vander Lugt

Thank You, Lord, for motherhood
With all its vale of tears,
For happy moments never dimmed
Through all the many years. -Strecker
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Being a mom is a sacred partnership with God.

INSIGHT
Simeon was a Jewish man who knew the promises and faithfulness of God.  When he saw the baby Jesus, his song of praise celebrated both.  Not only had God preserved him to see the Christ (v.26), Simeon knew that this child was the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham (vv.30-32; cr. Genesis 12:1-3).

Have a blessed day and week ahead.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace