Today at CLA, I want to take a moment to say Happy Mother’s Day—not just to biological moms, but to all the women who’ve helped shape our lives and our faith.
I know this day can stir up different emotions. Maybe you’re celebrating your mom—or maybe you’re missing her. Maybe you're holding onto hope for a child, or you're celebrating the birth of a new baby. For some, this day brings so much joy and still for others disappointment, longing, or heartache. If that’s you, know that Jesus sees you. He knows your story, and He cares deeply about what’s on your heart.
But here’s what I love about today: we get to honour the women who’ve loved us like Jesus does—quietly, faithfully, and often behind the scenes.
This week, I had a conversation with a woman who shared a beautiful story with me. She grew up in foster care and didn’t come to faith until adulthood, when a woman she barely knew invited her to church. Later, in another city, another woman crossed her path and said, “You know God? Come to my church.” And then a pastor’s wife took her under her wing and simply lived her faith in front of her. And that, she said, is how she learned to follow Jesus—in small, everyday moments with women who showed up and made space for her.
It reminded me that mothering isn't always about biology—it’s about influence, nurture, and faithfulness.
Today, we’re celebrating the grandmas who prayed us through tough seasons, the moms who brought us to church when we didn’t want to go, the youth leader who said the same things our moms did, but we actually listened, the college mentor who showed us what faith looked like when life got real, and the friend who just kept showing up when we needed someone most.
And we especially want to honour the moms who are in the middle of it right now—raising little ones, sacrificing sleep, energy, and time, and giving so much of themselves every single day. Your work matters more than you know. Every bedtime story, every scraped knee, every whispered prayer—it’s holy work, and God sees every bit of it.
Scripture talks about this kind of legacy in 2 Timothy 1:5, when Paul writes to Timothy and says, “I’m reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice.” That’s generational faith. That’s what we’re celebrating.
And maybe today, you’re one of those women. Maybe you’ve never thought of yourself as a “spiritual mother,” but if you’ve encouraged someone in their faith, prayed for someone quietly, or simply loved someone well—you are. And you matter more than you know.
So thank you. Thank you for leading with love. For nurturing with prayer. For showing up again and again.
You are deeply loved and deeply appreciated.
