The pink rose of Mother's Day

For those of you who have read my previous blog, you will know some of my feelings surrounding Mother’s Day and my decision to not only attend church but to share in the service on that day. I wanted to share with you how it went and how God spoke to me in a beautiful way through it. 

As part of the service we wanted to provide a space for grief and lament as well as a space to celebrate. We had a display of white roses on our mercy seat (the place of prayer) and as we played a beautiful song people had the opportunity to take a rose (or as many as they wanted) and place it in a vase to represent a person/opportunity that they remember on this day. It was an absolutely amazing, spirit filled moment. 

As a celebration of the mother figures in our life we gave everyone a red rose. In the morning, as I was preparing the roses by attaching a bible verse to each rose, I found one rose that didn’t seem to be as ‘attractive’ as the others. The stalk didn’t seem as strong as the others and the petal on the outside had a mark. It didn’t seem to ‘fit in’ with the rest. I was going to throw it away, but I felt the Lord say:

‘Don’t throw it away,I see the flower, I think it is beautiful, I think it is good enough and I know who will receive it.’ 

So I attached the bible verse and put it amongst the others.

Towards the end of the service, I explained that everyone could take a rose at the end. As we Sang the closing song ‘the voice of hope’ – I felt arms around me and one of the beautiful women in church presented me with a rose. After the meeting I looked at the rose and realised that the rose I had been given was the rose I had almost thrown away before. I felt God say to me that he knew that especially on this day I can feel sad and broken, he knew that I often feel that I am not good enough to be a mother…I feel like that rose, I don’t ‘fit in’ 

 I then felt God remind me what he had spoke to me before he said:

‘I see you, I think you are beautiful, I think you are good enough and I know what is in store for you.’ 

Wow!

When I returned home, I put the white roses from the service along with ‘that’ red rose on the mantel piece. It looked stunning. As I sat and looked at it, something caught my eye. On the end of the mantel piece was a silk pink rose. My stepdaughters had given me it the day before as a Mother’s Day gift along with lots of other goodies. 

I found this pink rose profound. It spoke to me of the blessing of my three stepdaughters. The mix of red and white. Red for the celebration of what they have brought to my life, the love that I both have for them and receive from them and the countless blessings I receive from them. White for the sadness of not having them with us every day and having to ‘share’ them 

I found this pink rose spoke to me about my journey through infertility. White for the grief and lament of never having that miracle baby and of another month passing by without a positive pregnancy test. Red for the celebration of sisterhood, of women who pray for me and journey alongside me, for the support of women who grieve in my losses and celebrate my successes. Also red for the amazing things that God has done to make me fruitful in a time of bareness. 

I found this pink rose spoke to me about Mother’s Day. White for the grief of another Mother’s Day without a child to call me mum and for the sorrow I see in the faces of so many women. Red for the amazing things that God has done in and through me in order to encourage other to see him in a difficult day. 

Today I pray that you might recognise the pink roses in your life.