Here’s to you, moms on the margins!

You know who you are—though you may try to hide. Feeling on the outside edge of your neighborhood and your church.  Maybe a discouraged mother raising children solo after some wrecking ball tore through your marriage.  Maybe solitary since baby’s first cry. A fearful woman trying to protect her family from abuse. An exhausted mom raising a special needs child— handicapped if the word doesn’t irk you. Because don’t all children have special needs?

You sit alone in the doctor’s office and the church pew, face a teacher’s conference or police officer without companionship. Juggle dollars between food or heating oil, and cry with relief when spring arrives. 

 You’re weary from work and cooking and laundry and taking out the trash and walking the dog. So weary sometimes you take out the dog and walk the trash! 

A mother whose continual prayers feel like she’s shredded the hem of Jesus’ garment with her tenacity and perseverance. Whose knees are dirty and callused, arms tired from holding it all together. 

But be encouraged, Mom. Every smile, hug, and stack of pancakes from you; each story, tea party, game of catch, or picnic with you are rich deposits in your child’s love bank.

And those tatters hanging from the frayed hem of Jesus’ cloak are not useless waste. They are threads titanium-strong from your persistence and spun gold of pure love.

You’re investing in the lives of your children, and that is precious—like glowing rubies and sparking diamonds in the future armor of your children as they make their mark on this world quaking in need.

 You may think you’re kneeling on a stained carpet, leaning against a threadbare sofa, flinging anguished words only as far as the ceiling. But be encouraged, Mom On the Margin. You are cooperating with God in building men and women who can make a difference.

And remember, even if you feel as abandoned and betrayed as Hagar, God remembers you. He sees you just as he saw Hagar when she grieved alone in the desert and spoke words about her son’s future. Her response? “You’re the God who sees me!” (The Message Bible)

 Praying for you, dear sister. Happy Mother’s Day.