the G sides

This past weekend was Mother’s Day. I’ve been in church services where the whole day is about Mom. Flowers are passed out, moms and grandmothers are told to stand and be honored. The message is about the awesomeness of mom and songs are sung to the glory of Mom. It can get pretty ridiculous as it seems to put motherhood on the pedestal with the Trinity.

I have a friend who doesn’t go to church on Mother’s Day because of this. It’s too painful. She was never able to have children. Her relationship with her mother ended when she left her abusive family at age 10. In her words, “Mother’s Day was the annual reminder of how jacked up my life was.” She hated her own mom, she wasn’t a mom. She had no use for Mother’s Day.

I had another friend who avoided Mother’s Day in her younger years for other reasons. She had kids and was an incredible mother but Mother’s Day was a reminder of the one she aborted as a teenager. I have another friend that has lost a child during childbirth. The church is the last place she wants to be on Mother’s Day.

I feel the tension every year as Mother’s Day approaches. Many people (me included) have incredibly positive “Mom Stories.” Examples of sacrifice, unconditional love, and patience abound with Mom. Many women find great joy and purpose in their identity as being a godly mom. They understand how far-reaching their influence is with their children.

So what is a church supposed to do on Mother’s Day?

I am not in a position to tell any church what they should do on Mother’s Day. The best I can do is communicate what we do and why we do it that way.

We try to walk in that tension. We will show a little video that celebrates moms. We will also acknowledge that the day isn’t a great day for everyone. Here’s what I said yesterday after the video: (At least, what I remember of it.)

Today we celebrate moms but I think it’s important to recognize that today isn’t the best of days for all women. For some, it’s a reminder of pains that run deep. Maybe they weren’t able to have children. Maybe their mom was abusive and distant. Maybe there is the pain of an abortion or the loss of a child. Here’s what I’d like for you to hear this morning if Mother’s Day is a day of pain for you. One day, in the blink of an eye, when we see Jesus – He will make all things right. All things. He will wipe away every tear. He will heal hurts completely. Those scabs will be gone. One day. And it’s because of this hope that even on a day like Mother’s Day, we can laugh and smile and hope.”

Then I prayed.

Of course, this happens every Sunday. People show up at different places in their story. It could be a high point or a low point. They could be ready to worship, ready to end it all. Some come looking for affirmation, others come looking for answers. Either way, it’s a wise team that tries to at the least have something for them to hold onto.

So for all our mothers and grandmothers – Happy Mother’s Day. You are an inspiration. You are being used by God to change the world, one life at a time.

For all of those who have scars that still hurt on this day – you are not alone. God is near to those crushed in spirit and brokenhearted. May you experience His nearness today.

This originally appeared as a weekly devo on whillschurch.org

My spring break didn’t turn out like I thought it would. That’s not a complaint – just an observation. The stuff we planned – didn’t happen and the stuff we “stumbled on” did.

Ran into a friend at Chick-fil-a (where else, right?) that told us about how teams had open practice for FREE at the Sprint Center the day before their NCAA opening round games. So we went. And then we ran into other friends and told them about it. And in return they told us about a place where it is wall to wall trampolines and you can jump to your face falls off. So we all ended up having this incredible day.

None of those things we had planned out. They all just sort of…happened. The story that we thought we were going to experience over Spring Break didn’t materialize. So we got to experience a different story instead. It was cool to see how these stories collided with each other and how that collision produced a larger story that was so much fun to be a part of.

This happens all the time around us. How often do we see it? Do we notice it? Do we see the larger story being written around us and through us?

Every story is the merger of at least three other stories. There is my story, your story and then God’s story. As we seek to merge our story with God’s we discover that He is pleased to merge our story with others along the way. In fact, our story is not possible without the story of others. God is pleased to work this way – blending and overlapping and at times colliding our stories to make a larger, more beautiful work of art.

Easter is the pinnacle of this. Think of these collisions…

Peter and the girl at the fire as she asks him – ‘aren’t you one of those guys that followed Jesus?’
The soldier who was just showing up for work and would end of losing an ear…then getting it back.
The man who showed up for Passover week to only be forced to carry Jesus’ cross.
Barrabas getting to experience first hand what Easter was really about – freedom.
Pilate and his insecurities as a leader facing an angry mob.
Pilate and his wife who had more discernment and courage then he did.
Two criminals with a death sentence who ‘happen’ to be crucified with Jesus.
The priest that was on duty when the holy of holies veil was ripped in two.
The men from Emmaus who would in a few short days be walking with the man they were watching die.
The soldiers who drew guard duty on Sunday morning.
Men who thought they wielded power waking up on Sunday morning to the ‘rumors’ of Jesus’ resurrection.

Theses were people who had their schedule, had their plan and then — it didn’t happen. Their story was changed. It was a holy collision of sorts – one that would drastically change their lives forever. Holy collisions work like this – they ambush us, interrupt us. But to the one who is paying attention – there is a larger story unfolding.

One that is deep and overwhelming. And beautiful and scary. And life-changing.

And your story is part of the larger one God is writing. He is using and writing your story with this end in mind – to collide you with others so that through this collision a larger story will emerge. A story where all will have the chance to know Him. Can you see this? Do you see Easter as part of this?

The joy of walking with Jesus comes in the realization of this. Understanding that there is a larger work of art being formed, that you are a part of it but not the point of it. Waiting and watching for these other stories to collide with yours. To see what God does next.