Mother's Day Litany

This beautiful and challenging litany was offered by Amy Young in her blog post, "An Open Letter to Pastors (A Non-Mom Speaks About Mother's Day)."

Today we offer it to you:

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you


To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you


To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you


To those who experienced loss this year through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you


To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.


To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you


To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you


To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you


To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you


To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience


To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst


To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you


And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you


This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.


-Amy Young