Here’s
a prayer of intercession for Mother’s Day / Mothering Sunday. It was written by Rev. Gord Waldie and posted on Worship Offerings.
Prayer for Others on
Mother’s Day
Nurturing
God,
on
this Mother's Day we pause to remember the gifts of mothering.
And
as we remember we pause to give thanks
for
the ways you are a mother to us:
for
nurturing us, giving us the guidance and the freedom we need
to
grow in experience and wisdom
(even
if we are sometimes headstrong and make unwise choices);
for
comforting us when we are wounded in body or spirit,
helping
us to heal and be stronger for it;
for
believing in and challenging us,
calling
us to be more than we are,
encouraging
us to live out our potential;
for
giving us the swift kick in the backside that we need at times,
not
letting us coast, reminding us to keep trying and growing;
we
offer words of thanks.
Gracious
God,
on
this day we also give thanks for those who have been like mothers to us.
Some
of them are related to us through blood,
some
of them have come into our lives through happenstance,
some
of them have been part of our lives for decades,
some
of them are new to us,
but
many people have nurtured, taught, comforted, challenged, encouraged us.
Without
them we would not be who we are,
and
so we give thanks for them
and
all that we have learned from our interactions with them.
And
yet, in the midst of our thankfulness, we remember...
We
remember that there are those for whom Mother's Day is difficult;
those
for whom the relationship between mother and child
is
strained, or difficult, or non-existent;
those
who are distanced from their mothers,
by
geography, or illness, or unhealed hurts, or communication failures;
those who have said farewell to mothers or
children,
not
to meet again until we join in the life which lies beyond this life.
For
all these mothers and children who meet pain or struggle this day
we
pray for comfort, that they would know they are not alone.
We
also remember those who want to be mothers but are unable,
those
who have given up a child for adoption;
those
who wish to know the woman who carried them but never will.
May
they too know Your peace.
God
of life,
today
and everyday we give thanks for the gifts of life.
Today
and everyday we also remember the people in the world
who
know more about curses than blessings.
Today
we remember that the roots of Mother's Day
lie
in women's grief at burying husbands and brothers and sons
as
a result of brutal warfare.
And
so we pray for peace and justice throughout the world.
This
we pray in the name of the one
who
taught about your love, your justice, your hope for the world,
Jesus
of Nazareth, our rock and redeemer, our teacher and guide,
in
whose life death and resurrection we find the path
that
leads to the Kingdom. Amen.
~ written by Rev. Gord Waldie (revised slightly) and posted on Worship Offerings. http://worshipofferings.blogspot.ca/
