IN CELEBRATION OF MOTHERS

		
 "Mother's Day"—a day of thanksgiving, celebrating and remembering what mothers 
mean to the world.  No one possesses more influence over the lives of people than 
mothers.  William Ross Wallace once wrote, "For the hand that rocks the cradle, is the 
hand that rules the world."  The following is a brief history of Mother's Day:

In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia 
Ward Howe as a day dedicated to peace. 

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a 
national Mother's Day.  Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in 
Grafton, West Virginia, to celebrate Mother's Day on the second 
anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May.  By the next 
year, Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia. 

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessmen, 
and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day.  It was 
successful and by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every 
state.  President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official 
announcement proclaiming Mother's Day a national holiday that was to be 
held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May. 

Regarding the worthy woman of Proverbs 31, the Wise Man wrote, "Her children arise 
and call her blessed" (Prov. 31:28).  Mothers are "blessed" because they bless the 
lives of all of us.

Let us pray this week for "mothers."  If a nation ever needed the gentle touch of a 
mother's hand, it is now.  And may all of us take this wonderful opportunity to let our 
mothers know just how much they mean to us.  May God bless motherhood!

Leslie S. Chapman