Honoring Your Mom across the Miles

May 10 is Mother’s Day! 

This holiday always evokes affectionate expressions between mothers and their children. Honoring mothers generally involves cards, gifts, flowers, and restaurant meals. Churches are often packed to overflowing with grown children who make the trip to sit with their mothers during worship or attend a Mother’s Day banquets.

Yet, as I write this, we are in the middle of social distancing, setting aside one tradition after another. As Mother’s Day approaches, most of us don’t know if we will see our moms face-to-face. 

How can we still have Mother’s Day?

Mother’s Day might be different, but it can continue with a little creative thinking. Hint: This year you may want to start thinking earlier than the day before! 

I love gift-giving and helping people think outside of the box, so here are a few ideas:

• Send Flowers: Call florists in her area and see what businesses are delivering or available for curbside pickup. Some greenhouses are still operating, but on a curbside or delivery basis. Check to see if gift cards are available, or pay for your mom’s favorite plant over the phone. Your mom will still be delighted to get flowers, even if she has to drive up for your gift.
• Order a Gift: Consider online gift-giving. Have your gift shipped straight to her door. Think of gifts you know she won’t have to send back. Items that add to a collection she already has or replacing a favorite item that is worn out are good ideas.
• Do Takeout: Depending on your mom’s food preferences, she may still like you to “cook for her” by providing a takeout or delivered restaurant meal. This can be done by gifting your mom with an electronic gift card to her favorite restaurant or ordering the food yourself and arranging delivery or pickup.

What If She Really Doesn’t Want Anything?

Some moms already have everything or say they don’t want gifts. Yet, if you cannot give her your presence, you can give something precious in her honor to someone else. 

• Feed Hungry Kids: Does your mom have a passion for children? Many communities are pulling together to create grassroots efforts to feed hungry kids not in school. Message the chamber of commerce in your mom’s city and ask who is helping children and where you might donate.
• Support Hurting Women: Does your mom have a tender heart for women in difficult situations? A donation in her name to a local women’s shelter would touch her. 
• Care for Someone She Loves: What about something more private and personal? Perhaps there is a needy family in your (or her) church or community who could use a blessing. Talk privately to someone close to the situation, and ask for ways to help. When you give your gift, tell the recipient it’s in your mother’s honor and share your faith with them.
• Strengthen the COVID-19 Frontlines: Give a gift in your mom’s name to one of many Christian ministries who are battling COVID-19. Samaritan’s Purse is providing much-needed support at this crucial time. 
• Help the Suffering: The Salvation Army is also providing merciful help to those suffering in this pandemic through their hospitals and clinics, not to mention the services they provide all year round in communities. 
• Change Women’s Lives: Consider a gift to Revive Our Heartsin your mother’s honor. It’s a wonderful choice for making a spiritual difference in the lives of women worldwide! 

These are just a few ideas to get you thinking. Whatever donation you choose to give, include a description in your Mother’s Day card to your mom. That way she can feel the love, too.

The Gift of Words

Sometimes a mother would really love to hear from her child with a gift of words. Even if you aren’t good with expressing your feelings, I’ll help you!

For this idea, you will take five different ideas and write something about each one. You could write these out in one letter. Better yet, write each one out on a separate note card and drop them individually in the mail on different days. 

These ideas are:

• Something you taught me without saying a word
• What I saw in your faith that made an impact on me
• One of my favorite memories of childhood
• My favorite childhood memory of how you made me feel special
• One thing you did that made our house feel like a home

Now, here are a few examples of what these might look like:

Dear Mom, I know there were times when it seemed I wasn’t paying attention to you, but I saw a lot over the years. You spoke so much truth! Thank you for that. But something valuable you taught me was to serve others selflessly. I watched you serving at church and giving quietly to those in need. You thought of others more highly than yourself. I learned from watching you do everything with grace and humility. You taught me a lot without saying anything. 

Dear Mom, your faith in Christ made such an impact on me. Remember when you and Dad thought we’d lose the house because of his factory closing? Well, I didn’t see you fret, but I did see you pray. I watched you make sacrifices in that difficult time, but seeing your trust in God’s provision affected me the most. You had a no-matter-what belief in God that I still remember to this day. I’m so grateful for how our situation turned out. But I’m more grateful for you teaching me to trust God. 

Dear Mom, when I reflect on my childhood, I know that I grew up in a loving home. Even though we didn’t have a lot of luxuries, we always knew you would make things exciting. A favorite memory I have is when you let us make a huge mess at Christmas with homemade sugar cookies. There was frosting and food coloring everywhere! But you took it all in stride and helped us deliver them to people down the street. Every time I see a cookie cutter in my drawer, I remember making Christmas cookies with you. 

Dear Mom, I have so many great memories, but there’s one memory that sticks out to me. I remember how you took us to the grocery store and let us all pick out one item of our choice to put in the cart. We didn’t always pick the most nutritious food! But this simple thing always made me feel excited just to go shopping with you. You were a fantastic cook, by the way! 

Dear Mom, even though I am grown and have my own family, I still remember how special you made our home feel. After a long day at school, I couldn’t wait to get back to my own house. Something else that you did that made me feel good, was how you always made my friends feel so welcome. Some of them didn’t have Christian moms, but they saw your love and knew God was the reason. You were a light and probably didn’t realize it.

Now start thinking of your own mom and give her your sweet words for Mother’s Day!