Happy Mother’s Day

Here is a short reflection on motherhood from lay minister and mainly music leader Katherine Waite. The Mother’s Day Celebration was on 12 May. The group had fundraised for a coffee machine which they unveiled on the day (the Barrier Truth were there to report the story - so hopefully in the paper soon).

Happy Mother’s Day for Sunday.

And it’s a joy today to celebrate our coffee machine, draw the winner of the quilt and to thank our sponsors.

I discovered this week that it was the church and not Starbucks that created the coffee culture. Coffee was invented by Ethiopian months and the term cappuccino refers to the shade of brown used for the habits of the Capuchin monks of Italy. [1]

Coffee is born of extravagance, an extravagant God who formed an extravagant people, who formed a craft out of the pleasure of roasted beans and frothed milk. [2]  Perhaps that’s not a word that you associated with Christians or the church but when we enjoy creation we reflect God’s goodness.

But motherhood can feel like a tough season in life and our lives and body can feel like the property of a tiny, little adorable dictator. Perhaps you have bought many coffees or teas (for the tea drinkers) that have gone cold before you got to the end of the cup.

I think one of our challenges as mums – and this I speak particularly to myself – is to be intentional about finding joy in this season. I can easily let myself be brittle, irritable and over-extended with trying to do it all.

I’ve had to remind myself that we must practice taking delight in life. To be able to savour a lazy afternoon and not always cleaning and tidying the house and ticking off the jobs on our to do list. We need to notice and delight in the world around us.

Today as you drink the cup of coffee or tea, or eat some morning tea, may you take a moment to smell the aroma, taste the flavour and enjoy God’s good gifts.

Happy Mother’s Day.

[1] Tish Harrison Warren, Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, an imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2019), 131.

[2] Harrison Warren, 131.