Pray for the motherless on Mother's Day

My church did something special last night to honor moms. The pastor called a special time of prayer for moms. As I sat there praying and thanking God for the undeserved blessing I have of being a mom to three beautiful children, my heart suddenly turned to grief and I sat there sobbing.

I was weeping for all of the children in this world who have been abandoned by their mothers. These children have every right to celebrate Mother's Day for they were bore from a womb, yet their mothers have given up their right and obligation to be their mother. This breaks my heart.

Even more heart breaking is where some of these children have ended up as a result.

Often times, mothers (and fathers) feel it is best to drop their child off at an orphanage because they can't provide for them. They are making a selfless choice to place them there in the hopes that others will provide for them, raise them and hopefully one day adopt them as their own and provide them with a family. Others drop them off at the orphanage because they choose to not raise a child. This is not so much a selfless act as it is a selfish act. Either way, these decisions are generally seen as loving choices to provide something greater for this child. There is hope. But until that child receives a new mom and/or family, and even still when this happens, there is heartbreak in this child because they have been separated from their mother. Some may even cry out the words of Job 10:18, "Why, then, did you deliver me from my mother's womb? Why didn't you let me die at birth?" (NLT)

However, last night, my tears weren't solely for the orphans at orphanages. No, they were also for those children who are traded and sold by their mothers for drugs, possessions and position. My heart was breaking for those children who are forced into the street by their mothers. Children who are sold into prostitution at young, tender ages. Children who are sold at birth because their mothers are so drugged up they just don't know any better. Children who are forced into slavery because their mothers see them as nothing more than a way to pay for their old age. Children who never have the opportunity to be children and in fact, suffer things that most of us can never even imagine or fathom because it is so sick and disturbing.

As I sit here this morning enjoying my breakfast in bed, my heart hurts. I can hear the whispers of these abandoned children on this hyped up holiday, although these cries may happen every day, crying out, "Curse that day for failing to shut my mother's womb, for letting me be born to see all this trouble." (Job 3:10 NLT)

Mothers, you have been blessed with children. There is no doubt that you love your children, provide for your children and would die for your children. Would you consider taking on more children? Not everyone can take on the path of adoption, but we can all pray for and reach out to abandoned children. We may not be their physical mothers, but we can be their spiritual mothers. Our prayers can change their lives as God unfolds their story and moves in response to your prayers.

The sweetest moment for me last night as I sat there quietly sobbing in church was my young daughter wiping the tears from my face. In her innocence, she had no idea of the complexity of my grief or the reality of what was happening all over the world at that moment in time to many children. A mental picture I will keep forever as I pray for children all over the world.

Happy Mother's Day. May it be a blessed one for you and/or your mother.