2 Corinthians 1:3–5 NLT
My husband, Nick, struggles with going to church on Father’s Day. I struggle going to church on Mother’s Day. It’s difficult to attend when these services focus on celebrating and honoring the very people we long to be—parents.
When I have attended church on these days and been met with the inevitable “Happy Mother’s Day!” I’ve smiled and said, “Thank you” but felt the hurt inside. The well-intentioned greeter doesn’t realize the depth of pain just below the surface. At the height of our fertility treatments, a counselor suggested we skip attending church on these dates, which was good advice.
But through this difficult period the Lord comforted me through my friend Cindy, who began a tradition of bringing me flowers every Mother’s Day. Her outward focus moved me because she carried her own grief—the tragic loss of her fiancé in a workplace accident years ago. Cindy’s sensitivity was birthed out of her pain, and her thoughtfulness brought profound healing to me.
Now, years later, Nick and I try to imitate Cindy’s thoughtfulness. When we attend church on Mother’s and Father’s Day, we reach out with cards or gifts to those in our congregation who are hurting. One Mother’s Day I gave a devotional book to a friend who was struggling in her marriage. She sent me a text later that week explaining how her depression had been replaced with a wave of calm as a result.
Words can’t describe the joy that has come from being God’s agents of comfort to others (2 Corinthians 1:4). If we hadn’t experienced the thoughtfulness of a friend in our time of sorrow, we wouldn’t be the people we are today—not parents but a couple seeking to lift the spirits of those in need.
A Prayer for You
Lord Jesus, I thank You for being my comforter. You see me, You hear me, and You know the pain I carry. Please help me to see Your care for me. And even in the midst of my own sorrow, show me how to see the pain of others and pass on the comfort that You bring to me.