2 Mother's Day Gifts Every Woman Should Give

With the arrival of May comes a whole slew of events. School parties, exams, the start of marriages, graduations, and our first chance for a little vacation… they all occupy the calendar. Smack dab in the middle of all the events we’re planning is this thing called Mother’s Day.If you are a mother, perhaps you wonder if they’ll pull any semblance of a happy day off for you. Just a card would be nice, but a big deal would be great, too. Am I right? Seriously, how many celebrations do we pull off each year???If you have a mom nearby, you feel the pressure. How do you adequately honor the one who kept (or keeps) everything moving? More specifically, what is it that moms and women who desire to be a mom really need? As I prepare to teach this Sunday at Highpoint Church, I’ve been asking God that question for several weeks. I pray that the answer He’s showing me will bring joy to your soul, even if Mother’s Day isn’t your favorite holiday. (Please remember, it is a hard day for many.)Before we get there, however, I think there are a couple of gifts each woman can give to every mom she knows that would empower each of us to be the best version of ourselves. This Mother’s Day, would you consider being the giver of these two gifts:

1.  Lay Down the CompetitionWe don’t mean to compare, but we do. More out of our own insecurity that we need to be good enough, we try to measure up to the other moms in the class, on the team, in the play group, or at the office. Being a mom isn’t easy. We actually need to lock arms and help each other be the best moms we can be, not prove we’re good enough.

[bctt tweet="Let's be the people who break the cycle of competition in our mom circles."]

2.  Voice the Silent StruggleWe’ll share some things, but there’s a line. It’s a line of shame. We’ll admit our child did a little wrong… but whether it’s biting at age 2, or stealing at age 8, or drinking at age 14, or getting arrested or pregnant, or suffering from a mental illness, or whatever the greatest pain is that you can imagine as a mom, we stay silent out of embarrassment.

Each of us ends up isolated and primed for the hard to become even harder when we don’t say our deepest needs out loud. We must courageously speak our struggles so we can get through them in a healthy way. As Christ followers, we aren’t meant to live in isolation. Someone must give the gift of going first.[bctt tweet="Let's give the gift of going first when it comes to courageously speaking of our struggles as moms."]Would you be the woman in your circle who would stand secure in her identity as a follower of Christ and break the cycle of competition? At the appropriate time and in the appropriate space, would you share your struggles out loud? You are not alone. I promise. And if you’re willing to give either gift, I bet you’ll breathe hope into a mom right beside you.