To the first-time mom, congratulations! What a special time this is for you!

To the tired mom of little ones, rest! Eat the burnt toast and hang the handmade cards on the refrigerator.

To the mom of tweens, keep going! These years can be hard, but you are doing a great job.

To the mom of teenagers, enjoy them! Delight in the people they are becoming.

To the mom whose baby is graduating this year, it’s perfectly fine to cry. After all, you’ve poured your life into your child, and now the next part of their journey has arrived.

To the mom whose kids are grown and gone, remember those fun stories of little ones. You now know the truth, that the days are long but the years are short.

While many of us look forward to this day, let us not forget there are those for whom Mother’s Day is not a celebration but rather a heartache.

To the motherless daughter, wrap yourself up in the memories of your mom.

To the mom who has lost a child, mourn what could have been but remember the gift of what is.

To the women who long for a child, don’t beat yourself up if you just can’t go to church. Some places in our hearts need space to heal.

To the women who mother in all kinds of ways, thank you! May you be blessed for the ways you have invested in the lives of those around you.

Mother’s Day is a beautiful opportunity for all of us to look around and encourage the moms in our lives. So take time this week to send that text or write that card. Make the phone call to the woman who has poured into your life. But also, it’s a time for us to hold close those who mourn.

And let’s all remember that no matter what the situation is with our own mothers, we have a good, good Father who delights in us, loves us and calls us His own.

Happy Mother’s Day!