by Helen Jesze 13th March 2026

“Honour your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord
your God is giving you,” Exodus 20:12 NIV

“ And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to
thy word.” Luke 1: 38 KJV

This Sunday, 15th March, will be my 83rd birthday. I thank the Lord for the gift of
Life and how He has blessed and helped me through so many years. When I was a
baby, I had a temperature of 104 degrees F, and nobody knew what was wrong with
me. Through my parents’ prayers, Jesus healed me, for which I am very grateful. I
gave my life to Him when I was 9 years old, and am so thankful for His faithfulness
to me, even when I was not always faithful. When we repent, He receives us back
with open arms!

This Sunday is also Mothering Sunday in the UK. The inaugural official Mother’s
Day was first celebrated in 1908 in the USA, initially started by Anna Jarvis, to
honour her late mother and the broader concept of motherhood. In 1914, President
Woodrow Wilson gave it national recognition.

Thinking of Mothering Sunday got me thinking of many mothers in the Bible who
played a pivotal role at their time, and some whose actions influence us to the present
day. First of all there was Eve, who became “the mother of all living”. Then there
was barren Sarah, but God gave her Isaac, “the son of the promise”. Through this
man and his son Jacob, came the Jewish nation, from which we have our wonderful
Saviour, Jesus and Salvation.

To barren Rachel, God gave Joseph, whose wisdom and dedication to God later saved
all of the nation. I think of Jochebed, the mother of Moses, a slave in Egypt.
Defying the order of Pharoah to kill all Hebrew baby boys, she hid him in a tiny
waterproof basket and set him on the river Nile, where he was rescued by the
Egyptian princess. Through her faith and courage, Moses was saved and used by God
to bring all the Hebrews out of slavery and into the Promised Land.
God gave barren Hannah a boy who became the prophet Samuel. Then we have
barren Elisabeth, the wife of Zacharias, already after the change of Life, God gave
her a boy who became John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, “a voice crying in
the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord”!

But the last and most important mother I want to mention today is Mary the mother
of Jesus. A young Jewish virgin, probably still a teenager, engaged to Joseph the
village carpenter, is visited by the angel Gabriel, who tells her not to fear, for she has
found favour with God. He further says that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and
the power of the Highest shall overshadow her and place a divine Seed in her womb,
and she will give birth to Jesus, who will become the Saviour of the world! This had
never happened before and will never happen again, that a virgin would conceive.
Although she could not imagine how this would be, Mary said to Gabriel: Behold the
handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to your word. Thank God that
Mary carried and bore our Saviour, the Messiah, the Anointed One. She truly had
found favour with God, for this awesome responsibility and privilege to be hers.
However, we do not worship her as being divine, as some of our Roman Catholic
friends do. In her wonderful prophetic song “The Magnificat” (Luke 1:46-55), she
acknowledges that her spirit magnifies the Lord and rejoices in God “her Saviour”.
All emphasis was on the Child she was to bear – our Lord Jesus Christ, and we praise
our Heavenly Father for His provision of the Plan of Salvation He made through
Jesus!

As Christian women today whether mothers ourselves or not, let us also say in faith
and obedience like Mary, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according
to thy word”, in God’s purposes in our life!

Prayer: Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the gift of our mothers, for their care,
prayers, standing by us when we make mistakes as we are growing up, forgiving
and supporting us.
But for those of my friends who have not known their mother, or have
experienced an unhappy, even abusive childhood, we ask you to come and heal
their wounds, help them to forgive, comfort and bless them. Fill the empty place
in their heart.

We pray for all those mothers who do not know you as their personal Saviour,
that you will reveal yourself to them. And for those mothers who are grieving
because their children have disowned them, may there be reconciliation, an
opening of hearts, forgiving and a new start.

Thank you for the joy and privilege of being a mother, of bearing little ones and
bringing them up for you. Give us love, patience, strength and wisdom.
And for those of us who regret the mistakes we have made with our children, the
words which should or should not have been said, never to be recalled, we ask
for your forgiveness and give us the courage to ask our children for forgiveness,
and to forgive ourselves. Let your Agape Love fill our hearts afresh, we pray,
and we give you all the glory for new beginnings today! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.