Military Devotions

For some Mothers’ Day does may not rank high among American holidays—except, perhaps, for the selling of cards, flowers and chocolates. For others, Mothers’ Day is a wonderful occasion on which to thank our mother and our Lord for all the blessings we received through her. And yes, it serves another important purpose as well. It invites us to give thought to the questions about where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going.

We did not enter life as a mature adult. We were not able to stand on our own two feet and take care of ourselves. “Helpless as a baby!” is the saying that applies. We did not decide to be born. We did not pick our parents; nor did we choose the time and place of our birth. We were at the mercy of the plans and purposes of Someone Else. That One chose to put us in the protective and nourishing care of a most important person in our life—our mother.

Random chance or accident had nothing to do with our birth; every birth is planned. Every birth has a purpose. The Designer dwells in heaven! What to humans may be a mystery is to the Lord of life as clear as the skies once were over the Garden of Eden. For there is where our path of life begins.

It is the Creator who decided how the earth would be populated. It is the Almighty God who brings about the miracle we call birth. It is the Lord of grace and glory who brought the first woman into being and made her the mother of all the rest of us.

If we have to marvel at how we came to life, we must be further amazed at how our Creator has cared for us. He has been there at each step of our life. At times we might have turned our back on him, but never did he let us go. Great and glorious are his plans for us. With wisdom and power he put those plans into action.

Our mother played an important part in this. Through her we were given physical life. But many of us have received much more from the one we call “Mom.” That godly mother prayed for us before we were born. She saw to it that we were born again of water and the Spirit in holy Baptism. In the lap of our earthly mother many of us first learned about our Father in heaven. How could we ever thank such a mother enough? How can we thank the God who gave that mother to us?

The answer is simple: the way we live our life is the way that we respond to love that flowed through Eve, down to our mother, and now rests upon us. “What would your mother think?” is not a bad question to ask as we review our life.  
The history of our life begins in the Garden of Eden. The story of our life unfolds in the arms of our mother. The end of our path of life is intended to lead us back to the One who named Eve to be the mother of us all. He is the beginning of life. He is the purpose of life. And he is the end of life. He who is the Life of all the living deserves our praise and thanks on Mothers’ Day. We offer it gladly.

Written by Pastor Paul Ziemer, WELS National Civilian Chaplain and Liaison to the Military, Cape Coral, Florida