Warning: For those of you men reading this column, if you didn’t remember Mother’s Day is today; it is, and you might just be too late to get your shopping completed. I did remember and have Dave to thank because the column has to be written one week ahead of time, which only means that I have remembered that the day is upon us, but certainly does not mean that the shopping is completed. The shops should begin advertising Mother’s Day gifts several months in advance, but then maybe they’ve realized that the men aren’t going to buy anything until the last minute anyway. These important days sneak up on me every year and it seems like I was just recently shopping for Christmas, birthdays, and our anniversary gifts a few short weeks ago.

Now I realize that all men are not like me, but I am willing to suggest that there are several of us out there who could use some help. My wife is not going to remind me ahead of time about these special days, but I’m certain that I would receive a reminder after the fact. Perhaps some ingenious person can concoct a way to install a reminder on us men at the appropriate time in our lives, something like the loud dinging sound you hear at the car wash during the last minute before your money is all spent!

The rat race of our daily lives is often so hectic that we don’t slow down long enough to enjoy life, the people and places and signs of nature, all gifts from God that are intended to be shared with others. It is a challenge to just slow down and understand that one does not have to do everything. One of the 3 T’s of stewardship is time and each of us is called to use this gift wisely and carefully, and that sometimes makes it necessary to prioritize some activities at the expense of others. It seems logical then, that we can prioritize our time today to honor and to enjoy all of the mothers and mother figures in our lives today.

The day traces its origins in the United States back to around 1907 when Ana Jarvis persuaded her church to celebrate Mother’s Day on the anniversary of her mother’s death, the second Sunday of May. Julia Ward Howe had been celebrating a similar day in Philadelphia since 1872 and it was President Woodrow Wilson who officially made Mother’s Day a national holiday in 1914 as a result of this continuing tradition which was spreading from city to city.

Each of us can probably remember some sage advice that these dear ladies have told us at some time early in our lives – you know the ones about our faces freezing, jumping off the bridge if someone else does, and shutting the door because we weren’t born in the barn. Mothers, perhaps not as a result of these subtle little tidbits of wisdom, but more as a result of their continuing words of encouragement and nurturing, are truly examples of Christian stewardship that can be celebrated on this occasion. I’m quite certain that stewardship wasn’t mentioned in the earlier days of Ms. Howe or Ms. Jarvis, but it was the traits of their mothers that exemplified stewardship which prompted them to honor their mothers in this special way.

Like the loud dinging sound at the car wash, let this day be a reminder to just stop and to redirect our thoughts, words, and actions today into celebrating this special day and the women who have made this day so special for each of us. They have given us much, and we are called also to give much. Stewardship challenges each of us to share our gifts every day, but perhaps today we can be especially mindful to share our gifts with all the mothers out there, not just material and monetary gifts, but rather the gifts of ourselves, too.