Most Americans will be celebrating Mother’s Day this year on Sunday, May 11th. It’s a significant cultural event dedicated to honoring and appreciating mothers, grandmothers, and other maternal figures. Established in 1914 through President Woodrow Wilson‘s proclamation, the holiday recognizes the immeasurable role mothers play in our families and society.

Being a mother is much more than giving birth. Motherhood is about devotion, selflessness, and lifelong commitment. It’s about giving and not getting. It’s about showing agape love for your children. It’s about sacrifice—over and over and over. Sometimes it’s even about giving up dreams and aspirations to be sure that the needs of one’s children are met.

It’s about adult desires being delayed for the best interests of young sons and daughters. Hollywood and feminists don’t talk positively about such things because they don’t understand them.

Pro-life hero Phyllis Schlafly once wrote that

“a young child’s place is in the home and there is no adequate substitute for the bonding and attachment that take place between a child and his mother. A secure attachment in infancy provides the basis for self-reliance, self-regulation, and ultimately the capacity for independence combined with the ability to develop mature adult relationships.”

Nothing can adequately take the place of a mom.

But the godless Left is not so appreciative. They have demoted, derided, and degraded motherhood. In fact, they are working to eliminate recognition of gender roles, such as through the use of the word “mother.” In fact, in 2023, Illinois lawmakers passed House Bill 1596, which replaced gender-specific terms like “mother” and “father” in certain state statutes with gender-neutral language, such as “person who gave birth” and “parent.”

Of course, our state isn’t the only one trying to erase gender distinctions. For example, Oregon’s 2021 law allowing “X” gender markers on IDs is part of a larger push to blur the distinctions between the two genders.

Illinois has followed suit, allowing gender markers on both state IDs and birth certificates, with options for male, female or non-binary (X). The latter has been available since 2023, while IDs have been available since 2024.

Feminists would have us believe that being a mother is about self-fulfillment — having a baby when they choose, taking care of him or her if they want to, dragging him or her where they want to go, and arranging his or her schedule according to their desires. That’s not motherhood. It’s selfhood. And selfhood is the reason we have so many insecure children today who don’t know if their mothers love them.

Children need to see and experience the love of their parents, and they see that love best when mom is there consistently when needs arise or life challenges threaten to upset them. Of course, discipling children and pointing them to our Savior Jesus and His Word is at the very top of the list of how to show sacrificial love to a child.

Being a mother is not for the faint of heart. It’s incredibly demanding. I not only know this because of the dedication of my own mother, but because I’ve seen it firsthand as my wife cares for our children. The title “mother” is the highest honor accorded women.

This Mother’s Day, make a point of being sure your mother and the mother of your children know she is appreciated and highly honored!

Give Him Thanks…

• It is appropriate that our prayers this month emphasize motherhood, and it would be good to start by giving thanks to God for our mothers and the mothers in our lives.

• Thank God for our mothers’ love, sacrifice, nurturing, unwavering care, and the ways she reflects the selfless love of God.

• Thank God for your mother’s specific qualities or actions, like her patience, guidance, and strength.

• Thank God for your mother’s wisdom in teaching good versus evil and right from wrong.

• Thank God even if your mother has passed away. Thank Him for the legacy she left behind.

• If you are a mother, thank the Lord for the unique and God-ordained role He designed only for you. Praise Him that you are the perfect mother for your kids and rely on Him alone for the strength to love them well!

Pray…

• that the women who influence your life would be blessed with strength, wisdom, and health to fulfill their roles.

• that our culture would return to the basics – that God created two genders, equally valuable and with different roles.

• that women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy would treasure the precious life growing in them and carry him/her to term.

• that mothers and all of society would view motherhood as a high calling.

• If you are a mother (or grandmother), pray for God’s wisdom, peace, and strength as you live out the Great Commission in your home, discipling and loving your children (or grandchildren).

• pray for the conclave of cardinals meeting at the Vatican to choose the successor of Pope Francis.

• *UPDATED*: Please pray for Pope Leo XIV as he seeks God’s guidance in leading the Catholic Church. May he remain steadfast and courageous in his outspoken defense of marriage, the sanctity of life, and the truth of human identity.

• for the pastors at our churches and in our communities: may God grant them unwavering courage to proclaim the Word in its fullness, without hesitation or compromise. Pray that the Holy Spirit will fill them with wisdom, so they may rightly divide the Word of truth and guide their flock in the way that leads to life.

• Against pending legislation that would legalize assisted suicide, prostitution, and more drugs; laws that protect criminals, and onerous government regulations (and penalties) on home education (Isa 5:20).

• Against legislation that would mandate government mental health screening of students in public school. (SB 1560)

• Pray for those in authority (1 Tim 2:2):

• • Pray for our federal lawmakers, including President Donald J. Trump and his administration.
  • Pray for our state lawmakers, including Governor JB Pritzker and his administration.
  • ask God to convict our public officials of their need of divine guidance, wisdom and direction.
  • protect them from the snares of idolatry—whether it be power, ambition, or the approval of others.
  • pray that they seek to lead with integrity, humility, and a heart for biblical truth and justice in every decision they make.

• for the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court as they deliberate and eventually issue ruling on three important religion cases. Pray for God’s protection over our religious freedoms in America. Pray that He will guard our right to speak, pray, gather, and live according to our faith.

• Against the culture of death and for a renewal of a respect for the sanctity of human life in our society. Ask the Lord to grant us courage to build a world of biblical compassion, justice, and hope.

• that God would intervene and bring an end to the use and distribution of the abortion drug in our nation. Pray that the Lord would give us wisdom, discernment and the opportunities to tear down the lies that portray the abortion pill as safe and simple. Pray that God would raise up lawmakers, medical professionals, and leaders who will boldly stand for life and advocate for the voiceless.

• pray for the healing of every woman who has suffered as a result of the “pro-choice” agenda.

• that Christians would realize the importance of being God’s ambassadors in every aspect of our culture, especially the public square.

• that more of our family, friends and neighbors would want to strengthen their faith by committing to regularly reading the Bible and attending church.

• For the staff and board members of Illinois Family Institute and Illinois Family Action: that God would send volunteers, resources and funding to better do what He has called us to do here in Illinois.