Mother’s Day is upon us. Sunday we will celebrate motherhood all across this great country.

Our church will recognize the mothers present with a small gift, and we will give thanks. I will seek to do something special for both my wife and my mother-in-law. We will either eat out at the place of their choice, or I will try to show off my grilling skills.

Having said that, I know that Mother’s Day can be difficult for some. There are those women who, for a variety of reasons, never became mothers. This day reminds them of the pain and hurt they experience all year long.

There are also those who had mothers who did not love and serve their children in the way we would expect. Some mothers have simply failed.

And then there are those in the same boat as I am. We’ve lost our moms.

It’s been just over 13 years since my mom succumbed to cancer. I struggled for such a long time in dealing with that. I probably hid it well from most people, but my grief changed me greatly, and not in a good way.

I was blessed to have a mother who loved my sister and me, who was faithful to my dad, who was a hard worker and who served the Lord. She was an athlete with a competitive spirit, and she passed that along to the next generation.

I even remember the time she refused to let my oldest son win a board game, because she thought he needed to learn how to lose with grace.

He was getting a bit "uppity," to use her terminology, and a lesson needed to be taught.I miss her, even today.

But I have hope for the future. As a Christ-follower I am counting on the promises made in the Bible.

God has said that those who know him by faith will be raised from the dead, just as Jesus was. Without the resurrection, the Christian faith is pointless.

I hope you have this same hope. It is not merely wishful thinking. It is trust in the one who created us and who sustains us day by day.

He is more powerful than even death. He will keep his promises. We can trust him.