Church leaders and creative team leaders are always needing some Mother’s Day Service Programming inspiration. it’s always hard to envision special services, and Mother’s Day is especially difficult. How many different ways can we say, “We love you and we appreciate you?” While the words are true, sometimes the method of communicating can become stale and redundant from year to year. Additionally, how can we connect Mother’s Day to God in some significant way? He’s not just an add-on to this day, after all.
With that in mind, I asked moms for some help on my personal Facebook page. Here’s my original post…
Hey moms and grandmothers… I’m writing a script for a new Mother’s Day video, and I need your help. As moms, where do you feel unseen? These are most likely things you do or have done, but you feel like your husband or children don’t notice. It’s not a negative thing, or a chance to complain or anything. Please be unedited. Go!
I didn’t take much time to edit these, but you can do that as needed…
1 – Making sure that even if Our Home isn’t spotless that it’s at least functional. And Orchestrating our family time. I love having special days with my family away from devices so it takes a lot of research, planning, cooking, cleaning and other “-ings” to get ready for one day which is really just a couple of hours at most. And then all of the damage control after. Also trying to take care of major things before my hubby’s off day so that when it comes we can just be a family hanging out together.
2 – Packing lunches late at night. Knowing the boys’ toothpaste is running low. Making sure the right baby doll is in bed for prayers. Laundry, laundry, laundry. Cleaning toilets. Learning every word from every Frozen song that is played during day care drop offs and pick ups.
3 – Homework, doc and dental appointments, teacher gifts, injured feelings with classmates, not making the team/ squad/ play etc
4 – The hours and hours of prayer as you watch your children stumble through life and figure it out on their own….worrying at times of the ways you failed them…surrendering their fears and mine to the One who made the plan!
5 – The shirts and pants I iron for my husband.he thinks they come out of dryer that way.grankids, I make sure I have all the things they like in pantry. When kids were little, sat up all night with them when they were sick and watched them sleep
6 – I would say, since being a grandma for 23 years and now a great grandma for over 5 years, a total of 11 grandchildren, trying to find a balance for helping with babysitting, but not killing Grandma, doesn’t mean she doesn’t love them, she’s just tired and been on her knees for several years praying for all of them
7 – Making sure they get where they need to be, balancing appointments, school, ect. and that they have what they need, especially medications, and keeping track of all their information.
8 – Teaching my kids how to pack their own lunches or to be responsible for giving me their forms to sign. It makes it look like (and feel like) I’m not “doing” mom things
9 – I’d say the coordination during the week to get the errands done, shopping, phone calls, appts scheduled so they either don’t miss school or do depending on what matters to who. Then keeping a note of what we’re running out of whether is gold fish crackers or deodorant. All this, so when we are together on the weekend we are available to do family activities and relax.
10 – Keeping track of all the school things/syncing the calendar, preparing all the snacks, taking them shopping when their clothes/shoes don’t fit, picky eaters who don’t notice when you include some of their favorite things
11 – Yes, the mental load. Decision fatigue is real. What meals to make, what vitamins to buy, what team/class/lesson to sign up for, the birthday gifts to buy, traditions to keep, ALLLLL the schedules! Have the air filters been changed this year? Have we t…See More
12 – Moms are not allowed time to be sick…being tugged at both ends they cannot rest in spite of what they feel like
13 – Any party for everyone. All gifts. All appointments. All school related things. All friend activities. All travel. All clothes. I could go on and on.
14 – Teaching our kids how to read and how to be able to do things on their own.
15 – Food doesn’t magically appear!
16 – Ding, ding, ding. That is the sound I make refilling the ice cube trays since children do not refill just empty.
17 – All the work it takes for holiday get togethers and birthday parties or just any party. And all the decorating for Christmas and the shopping involved.
18 – Stopping something I am choosing to do for fun, entertainment, or relaxation to respond to the kids request for my attention to those really important things…You know those things that to them are earth shaking but to me maybe not so much! However, I make the sacrifice so they know I value what they think is important.
19 – Gift shopping and clothes shopping!
20 – Laundry…loved those dIrty socks that didn’t turn themselves inside out but made it in the laundry basket. Loved raising and praying continually for three hardworking young men and their families and friends.
21 – My hubby has always been appreciative and helpful. Now that’s a blessing.
22 – Being the scheduler… of everything. Making sure the kids look presentable before any public appearance. Making sure dinners are planned and there are groceries in the fridge and toilet paper when you need more. Organizing and delegating chores where
23 – Cutting finger nails, cleaning ears, cleaning out back packs, packing back packs with everything for every potential scenario, and, at this stage with an 8 month old, cleaning, sterilizing, and lugging around a breast pump that I use twice a day at work (and especially carving out the time to use said pump)
24 – As my children get older and I now work full time responsibilities of our household have definitely changed. My load is lighter and I have a lot more assistance with tasks like appointments and packing lunches & simple chores. I think I feel most unseen.
25 – The way you get to “know” your child by hours of undivided attention and how you then care for them preemptively in all the little ways. Dad doesn’t get that to experience that level of knowing while at work, and does not see how much goes into to it. On the outside, the way we care for them could look easy or normal. But it really is a million hours and a million little things.
26 – “A mother is only as unhappy as her unhappiest child.” I don’t know if this helps but this quote has always rang true with me.
If you allow yourself to dream, envision, and get with other out-of-the-box thinkers on your team, I’m quite certain that inspiration for your Mother’s Day services will arise from your collaborative effort. And these responses from real moms might just provide the exact launching pad for creating meaningful and inspirational elements on this special day, for these incredibly special women.
Be inspired to create. Your art matters.