Today is "Mother's Day," a day when cards and flowers are given to the women in our lives. Some will be taken out to eat and thoughts of gratitude expressed. Anna Jarvis in 1912 trademarked the phrases "Second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day." President Woodrow Wilson and Congress made Mother's Day an official holiday. Growing up I remember us making cards for our mothers and/or purchasing little flowers in Styrofoam cups for them.

I can't help but wonder why we still have "Mother's Day." After all, most of the things mothers do is taken for granted or spoken against. Let me show you what I mean.
Mothers that stay home and take care of their children are criticized for not pulling their own weight. Some say she should get out of the house and get a real job. It will give her more independence and the family can be financially better off.

Mothers that have children are looked down on by some. The world's population keeps on growing and we need fewer people and not more, is the mantra of those who are more cultured than I. Every person that is alive today is alive because they were born. Their mother allowed her body to become host to the baby inside. They saw their figure change and wonder if they would ever be the same again. They went through morning sickness, swollen ankles, and a host of other changes. They then went through the pain and agony of childbirth. In the end they did one of the most amazing things in the world. They gave birth to an individual that would grow and become an adult one day.

Mother's that think having a husband to love and obey is ridiculed by some in our society. A lot of women believe a man is simply a hindrance to their own lives. It is true a woman can conceive a child and then get rid of the father. Many men would find such an arrangement acceptable. Many women are willing to live with a man for a while and then change partners as they forget about marriage. They have been told they can rear their children without the father.

Mothers that want to teach their daughters to cook, clean the house, and how to take care of babies, are seen as the enemy by some women. They are propagating the next generation of subservient women. You might as well re-institute slavery. They never think that any woman would actually enjoy being a mom.

So why do we still have "Mother's Day." Because every child that has a mother that loves them is blessed. They are blessed because they need a mother to kiss their boo boos, wipe their tears, and listen to their stories. They need mothers to take then to the ballgame, make them cookies, and read them stories. Every child that has had their heart broken and cried their tears on their mother's shoulder, knows how important being a mother is. The writer of Proverbs 31 speaks of the courage and wisdom of a good mother.

We men need someone to help us make it through this life and to be our companion. We realize the sacrifices you make for us in giving us children, being our friends, and sharing your lives with us. Genesis 2.20 tells us God made woman to be a "help meet" (KJV) or companion, comparable to man (NKJV). God knows that man needs all the help he can get.

Because as we grow up and see our parents get older we understand the sacrifices they made for us. When their daughters start to have their children they realize what they put their own mothers through. When we see the smiles of our children we understand what our mothers saw in us.

Because when we see our mothers work to make the home a happy place we understand the importance of that home. When you did work out of the home we understood the home was still more important than the job. We saw you come home tired and still do all the little things that make moms special.

Many of us learned the importance of God by observing our godly mothers. I doubt if Lois and Eunice realized what Timothy would eventually become, but the reason he became such a godly man is because of his godly mother and grandmother, 2 Timothy 1.5; 3,14-15.

In short, the reason we still have "Mother's Day" is because most of us understand just a small amount of how great they are and we want to say thank you for being our wives and our mothers.--Dennis Tucker Westside Church of Christ