Ah, the Mother’s Day sermon. The most feared twenty minutes of the year for pastors and female parishioners alike.

Okay, maybe it’s not that bad (except when it is). Mother’s Day is a wonderful time to celebrate the women who have poured into our lives, and thank them for the day in, day out work that so often goes unnoticed and unappreciated. But it can also be an extremely painful day for those who are dealing with loss, or grief, or unfulfilled hopes.

Even for women who aren’t carrying a deep mother wound, Mother’s Day can be kinda awkward. It celebrates a shiny, one-dimensional, Hallmark ideal of motherhood that most women simultaneously can’t live up to or squeeze themselves into. It’s like being given a really amazing pair of jeans that are two sizes too small. Are you trying to give us a super-nice gift, or telling us that we need to lose weight, to fit into the confines of what you want us to be?

Well, what if there was a Mother’s Day message that addressed these issues, celebrating mothers while encouraging and empowering all women and men to reject limiting stereotypes and be the people God called them to be? I took a crack at it last year, and wanted to share it with you. I’ve adapted into an eBook that you can read and enjoy on your own, curled up in your jammies with a mug of your favorite tea, or adapt for use in a worship service (you’re welcome, pastors. I’ve got your back).

The eBook is free, and you can sign up for it in that form in the sidebar, right beneath the picture of me. Happy reading, friends!