Gtcotr/ss050921
In America we choose one day each year to observe things we feel are special and worth remembering or celebrating. Here are a few from our 2021 US National Celebrations and Observances Calendar:
·
January
1st – New Year’s Day but also National Hangover Day
·
January
2nd – National Science Fiction Day and National Buffet Day
· January 6th – National Cuddle Up Day
https://www.calendarr.com/united-states/observances-2021/
April
15th, normally known as Income Tax Day was changed to …
·
National
High Five Day
· National Laundry Day
May
18th will be National No Dirty Dishes Day
· If you keep up with this schedule, your whole house will be cleaned by late November.
May
21st – Take a Memo Day
· I would appreciate it if someone would jot down a reminder?
June
8th – National Call Your Doctor Day
· Which would have been better if they would have put it on:
June
24th – which is National Work From Home Day
·
That
way you would be at home with all the info the doctor needs.
· And why will we need to work from home? Because …
June
21st was National Take Your Cat To Work With You Day
· I’m pretty sure the offices will be smelly and in disarray that day.
Also
I want to let you all know that I am going to be pretty busy on Sunday the 1st
of August …
·
American
Family Day and
·
It’s
also National Girlfriend Day
o I’m not sure how we
are supposed to juggle those two on the same day.
o I guess we could
invite the girlfriends to family dinner …
o Should be enough room
at the table because it is also:
·
International
Childfree Day
·
And
- Sisters' Day
·
And
- National Friendship Day
o Going to be a lot of
sitting around wondering which conversation to join in on …
o But just to keep down
on the dead time …
·
It’s
also - World Scout Scarf Day
o Sadly, I’ll be the guy
without the scarf.
o You’ll be able to recognize me from the nail biting …
August
17th
·
National
Black Cat Appreciation Day
o I would have expected that to be on October 31.
Did
everyone get the memo from last year?
· January 21st was National Squirrel Appreciation Day
No
worries though, you still have time on May 21st to take another memo
so you can save the date for:
· July 13th - National Cow Appreciation Day
In
case you missed it:
·
April
23rd was Talk Like Shakespeare Day
o and
·
May
1st
o Global Love Day
§ sounds good because that
day was also,
o No Pants Day
Here’s
something for some of us to look forward to:
·
July
25th will be National Hire A Veteran Day
o One problem I see with this is that July 25th is a Sunday and most corporate offices are closed so I guess not many of us veterans will be getting new jobs this year.
More
good news though, you can wait until September 11th to observe
National Make Your Bed Day and … please don’t Ask A Stupid Question until
September 28th, that’s your day!
·
National Ask A Stupid Question Day.
· I actually thought that should have been a whole month, or maybe cover each election season.
As
you can tell, we Americans love to set aside a day to observe, remember, and
celebrate things, even if they are ludicrous. I suppose we put it on the calendar,
so we won’t forget to at least think about it all year. Especially the
important things like:
·
May
6th – National Day of Prayer
·
July
4th – Independence Day
·
November
25, 2021 – Thanksgiving Day
· Today, May 9th – Mother’s Day
Perhaps some things truly do deserve a day to remember, however others, like Mothers, really deserve more than just one day each year.
Where would we be if God had not given us mothers to love, nurture, and care for us? Every day should be Global Mother Appreciation Day. There is something special about our mothers. Nowhere do we see this more than in the Gospel of John, chapter 19.
John 19 NKJV
25 Now there stood by the
cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw
His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother,
“Woman, behold your son!”
27 Then He said to the
disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to
his own home.
28 After this, Jesus, knowing
that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
said, “I thirst!”
29 Now a vessel full of sour
wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it
on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.
30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
The
Gospels give us to understand that Jesus was fortunate to have several women
who were critical to His life and His ministry.
·
It
was an elderly woman named Anna who confirmed Jesus at His dedication in
Jerusalem when He was only 8 days old. (Luke 2:36)
·
There
were also three key wealthy women, along with other women, who followed Jesus
and paid the bills for His ministry. (They ministered to Him of their
substance. Luke 8:3)
·
It
was a woman of questionable morals who met Jesus at Jacob’s well and became a dynamic
witness for Him to her whole city. (John 4)
·
A
young woman caught in the act of adultery was used to reveal the heart of
Christ to the Pharisees at the Temple in Jerusalem. (John 8)
·
God
used a sick woman with great faith to draw upon the healing virtue in Capernaum
one day. (Mark 5)
·
A
woman willingly gave her costly perfume to anoint Jesus body for burial before
He went to the cross. (Matthew 26)
·
It
was a woman who pleaded with her husband, Pontius Pilate, to release Jesus
against the cries of the crowd. (Matthew 27:19ff)
· A woman out of whom Jesus had cast seven devils followed Jesus and became the first person to see Jesus alive after the resurrection. (Mark 16:9)
A few weeks ago during our Easter Sunday service I shared how interesting it is to me that at no time in the Gospels did any woman oppose Jesus or take any action against Him, or accuse Him or treat Him with malice or disdain. No woman ever did Jesus any direct harm in body or in reputation. The recorded enemies of Jesus were always and only men.
Women are survivors, peacemakers, kind, gentle, motherly, good, true, loyal, and selfless servants. They join themselves and give their hearts to serve those whom God chooses. From the very beginning when God took a rib from Adam and fashioned Eve, the grace God has given women is for family and they are often tempered to sacrifice their personal needs and desires in order to serve the greater good of others they love.
Mothers, God-given mothers, whether biological, foster, adopted, or spiritual mothers … they just need to know you are going to be ok.
The Gospel of John records the last moments Jesus hung on the Cross before His death. Let’s read this account together once more:
John 19 NKJV
25 Now there stood by the
cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw
His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother,
“Woman, behold your son!”
27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
There were most likely thousands of people witnessing these crucifixions on Golgotha that day. Accusers, family members, on-lookers, and friends of those three who were nailed in agony and sentenced to suffer and die. The shouts, the faces, the scorns, the spitting, the soldiers, the accusations, those laughing, mocking, weeping … so many people.
Not only were there people standing all around physically, imagine the hordes of hell looking on to see the Son of God being tortured and crucified. Also there was a great cloud of heavenly witnesses plus the millions of holy angels standing at the ready with Michael awaiting the call to arms.
Then, as those looking on were peering into the hopes and plans of both heaven and hell, there was Jesus searching through the ages and drawing every sin from every person throughout time and taking it upon Himself to bear their shame and bury their guilt with Him in the grave. I was there when they crucified my Lord.
Then just before He died, He noticed three women at the foot of the cross, close … close enough to Him to hear His voice.
Now
there stood by the cross of Jesus … Mary, Mary, and Mary.
·
One
of them a member of His extended family. An aunt maybe … perhaps even more like
a sister some say.
·
Another
Mary was a friend, a close friend … out of whom He had cast 7 demons. A true
follower who was with Him to the very end.
· And then … Jesus saw His mother.
The hours Jesus spent on the cross were the most powerful and important moments in all eternity. Yet, when He saw His mother, everything else stopped while He gave Himself fully to her and to what she needed.
No man ever loved his mother more than Jesus. No man ever cared more about his mother than Jesus. No man every gave the attention his mother deserves more than Jesus. The world stopped when Jesus saw His mother in need.
What did she need? What did Jesus need? Jesus needed to know His mother was going to be ok. Mary needed to know her child was going to be ok. That’s why Jesus stopped the world and took the time to say:
·
“Mother,
John is going to take care of you now.”
· “John, let her mother you now.”
Jesus knew Mary would need someone to mother … mothers just do.
Perhaps you might be a Mary or a John for Jesus today.
Every child needs a God-given mother … and … Every mother needs a God-given child.
Where will you fit into God’s plan today?
And don’t forget: We don’t need a special day to remember our mothers. Every day should be Mother’s Day!
Make a Mother’s Day today!
Now let’s thank God and pray for the mothers and the children God has given us.
