This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day. The day comes with many different emotions for all of us. It can bring memories of our own mothers, good or bad. It can invoke feelings of inadequacy for those of us who are mothers. And for those who wish to be mothers but for some reason or other do not have a child in their arms, the day can be painful.

I (Cindy) was there at one time. Believe it or not, before there were five biological children, there was a diagnosis and a surgery and a doctor saying words we never thought we’d hear. And for a period of time I didn’t go to baby showers and I wanted to avoid Mother’s Day and all of its celebrations.

We know that many of our families are in that same place. We want you to know that we are praying for you in earnest this week, that you will find comfort in God’s love. We pray for the family that we know He has for you. We pray that you would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He has a plan for you, a plan that is good and perfect.

We also acknowledge that this can be a painful day for the birthmothers of our children. For those of us who have already adopted, let’s promise to remember these precious women this weekend. In fact, the day before Mother’s Day is known as Birthmother’s Day. If you have a more open relationship with your child’s birthmother, find a way to honor her on Saturday. If you have no relationship with your child’s birthmother, you can still remember her in prayer. When we follow the call to love orphans, we also accept the call to love and honor their families. I have come to realize that many of these women are orphans themselves. If they had people around them to support, care for, and encourage them, they wouldn’t be in a place to make such a difficult decision. Jessie Lundell, open adoption advocate and chair of United for Adoption, says, “For me, adoption is always about love, and that includes loving birth parents.” We couldn’t agree more!

 Happy Birthmother’s Day, May 9, 2015!