Beyond beads, bracelets and bling

7 May 2021

One unchanging factor in the rollercoaster of life

Words Faye Michelson

What does Mother’s Day hold for you this year? The second Sunday in May brings with it expectations, doesn’t it? The lunch, the lovely heartfelt message in the card, the carefully chosen present … all part of the tradition of honouring mum.

I knew what to expect on Mother’s Day when my daughters were little. From the time they were old enough to know that this was the day they gave presents to mum, they knew the perfect gift. Necklaces. And not just for one Mother’s Day. I was fortunate enough to receive necklaces for years. And years.

I’ve had them all – painted pasta necklaces, clay bead necklaces, paperclip necklaces, even necklaces made out of a certain colourful, sugar-encrusted breakfast cereal made with holes perfect for threading through a piece of string. Then, when the girls were old enough to go shopping to buy presents, I received plastic necklaces in every colour, bead size and length imaginable until one year, I took my husband aside. I suggested that perhaps when he took them shopping for my Mother’s Day gift, he might like to steer them clear of plastic jewellery stands. The next year, when May rolled around again, I gave him less of a suggestion and more of a directive.

I’ve also found that what Mother’s Day means changes as the years go by. For me, now it is a deep delight to see my daughters celebrating their own Mother’s Days. The cycle has continued and one of my little girls has little girls of her own. For the past few years, I’ve shared a secret smile with her as I’ve admired her beautiful Mother’s Day presents, gorgeous necklaces/bangles/earrings, the bigger and bling-ier the better, of course.

This year will be an extra-special one. Another daughter will be celebrating her first Mother’s Day, so our family gathering will have three generations of mothers. That, too, is a deep delight, because we know that the years keep going by and the generations keep growing older. It’s important to hold each special celebration close, because times will change.

What will Mother’s Day hold for you? Will it be different from last year? For some, joyfully, it will be their first Mother’s Day, but for others, it will be their first after losing their mum. For some it will be another Mother’s Day, one of so many, without her, and others will grieve through a Mother’s Day without their children around them. For some it will be a hard reminder of the pain of never knowing their mother, never becoming a mother, of a broken relationship with their mother.

Life keeps changing, we know that. In the Bible, in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, the writer reminds us that there is a time for everything – a time to be born, a time to die; a time to weep, a time to laugh; to mourn, to dance, and so it goes on. But in the middle of unstoppable change is the unchanging one, Jesus, who is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews chapter 13, verse 6).

Whatever Mother’s Day – and indeed, every day – holds for you in this season of your life, remember that the unchanging one will hold you steady. All you have to do is ask him.