This is What Moms Really Want for Mother’s Day

Dear Sad,

Thanks for being so honest.  You're right, being a mom IS hard, and mother's day can be a painful day for many.  Please know that we want to help in any way we can, and our counselors are here to offer support and a listening ear if you'd like to talk.  Praying that the Lord would be especially close to all the moms out there...

SunnyFOTF Moderator

I am not attending church today. My husband is in California. My 25, 23 and 19 yr. old children are all at home now and 27 yr. old is in Massachusetts. I didn't want to be reminded of how happy a lot of mothers are when my life is generally a depressing mess right now. And I didn't want to smile and have a flower thrust on me or be told how important I am as a Mother to God or something. Sometimes being a mother really blows. We haven't attended church for about 10 yrs. due to how miserable our two sons made going to church.It became more important to have peace on Sundays than going to church and having embaressing fights. My husband and I found a church we like and go alone and are in process of joining. I am not going alone today as 19 yr. old had wisdom teeth out Friday and I am needed here.  Life is what it is not what we would like it to be most of the time. I just seek God's peace and presence here at home in the morass of work and demands and responsibility. And I social network with my friends far away. We moved here last yr. and I don't have close relationships here yet. And I didn't want strangers at church, even body of Christ people, shoving a flower in my hand and smiling and wishing my Happy anything today. I just want peace.

I don't really want my children to go to church with me on Mother's Day. What I really want is for my children to WANT to go to church because they have a personal faith and a desire to grow spiritually  and hang out with other Christians. So, maybe in a roundabout way, I DO wnat my children to go to church with me. But not just on Mother's Day.

Sorry, but I find this study a bit dubious; please post the link so we can see it for ourselves.  I've never heard any mother say she wanted church for Mother's  Day. My mom just wants to spend some time with her kids and grandkids -- church doesn't really come into the picture.

There is no greater joy or blessing for me than knowing my children are saved and serving the Lord. Being with them worshiping the Lord in church is a great Mother's Day gift.

Anonymous, I'm glad you want to know the specifics of the data cited. I get that way too about things. But you'll notice, Mr. Daly said, "Lifeway Research has determined that when it comes to church attendance, Mother’s Day ranks only behind Christmas and Easter." I think you misunderstood what he was saying in this. No women were polled by Lifeway Research to determine the activities they enjoy doing on Mother's Day; rather, Lifeway took data about church attendance, taking note of the days with the highest numbers of visitors. They found that the third most popular church day was Mother's Day. From that data, we have an obvious question: Mother's Day is not a religious holiday like Christmas and Easter, so why is attendance so much higher on that day than on a regular Sunday? The answer is most likely that going to church with Mom or Grandma is part of the celebration of Mother's Day for many families who do not attend church regularly. These families that stay home most of the year get up on that Sunday to go to church because it's Mother's Day, so they break from the norm and do what their moms would like to do. If moms and grandmothers didn't want to go to church with their families on Mother's Day, the higher attendance rate becomes very difficult to explain.

As a church attending mom, I disagree. Want to know what I really want? A Sunday morning to stay home and sleep in while my family goes to church!

Can you post a link to the study? Were just evangelical women polled, or a wider sampling of mothers?

You hit the nail on the head.