Happy Mother's Day...really should be every day.

We had a wedding this weekend in our historic chapel and it was a unique experience for me, because I was actually not the officiant. 

The couple was from out of town and so they had their pastor come in and do the wedding.  I don't often get to sit and observe someone else share in an event that I'm usually a part of, so I was soaking in as much as I could. 

There were two moments that stood out to me.  The first was how the pastor was talking to the groom about the vows he was making to his bride.  He talked about his bride being his wife and eventually, God willing, she would become a mother to their children. 

The other moment was after the lighting of the unity candle.  The pastor invited the young couple to greet their families.  During this moment, I was watching the groom intently.  I watched as he hugged his new in-laws and then moved over to hug his parents.  With his young brides hand in his, tears began to well up in his eyes as he hugged his parents and went back to stand with the woman he could now call his wife.

My thoughts then turned to it being Mother's Day the following day and I hoped that some day, these two would be able to celebrate a Mother's Day because of children in their own lives. 

Then I hoped that, when that day comes, this young man can continue to have in his heart so much love for his wife that he would be able to shed a tear of joy in the same way he was this day.

In my short time working with young couples, I've come to many conclusions, some of merit, some not. 

One of those conclusions is that the best gift a father can give to his wife on Mother's Day is love.  Love that is demonstrated in a way that their children can witness it.  It is essential for a family to see the love demonstrated  between their parents and I'm not talking about just the physical side of love. 

Love is in the way we talk to each other, the way we look at each other, the way we talk about the other person to our children.  We communicate our love to our spouse through many different means.  

But, why one day?  I understand the significance of setting apart a day nationally for us to celebrate mom, but instead of reserving that love for one day, instead of telling your wife or demonstrating to the mother of your children one day a year 'thank you' and 'I love you,' we should do it every day.  Every day should be mother's day.  (and father's day-don't think you're of the hook ladies!)

Happy Mother's Day.  Let's do our best to make every day a happy day for all of our mothers.