Mother's Day 2026

Welcome to the Awakening Church Podcast.

We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and the light of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for tuning in.

You can find your seat.

Kids in the room, this is when you can pull out that bingo card.

Because this is when the words will really start coming.

If you don't already have that out, your prize is gonna be by the bounce houses.

And you'll get one even if you don't finish it.

I'm gonna say all the words, but even if you don't finish it, you'll get your prize.

Well, I didn't introduce myself earlier.

My name's Ashley, and I get to serve as one of the pastors here at Awakening.

Um this morning is Mother's Day, as you know.

And on Mother's Day, a sort of tradition that we have here at Awakening is we usually have some sort of photo booth for families to take pictures with their kids and with their family and friends to take a picture together.

And this year is so fun because we have the Yao's photo booth where it like prints out little um little photo strip that then you can tease your kids later when they're older about the funny faces that they made.

But two years ago, when my kids were eight and four, the photo booth was set up so that families could get a really nice family photo together.

I gathered my kids up between all the tasks that I have on Sunday mornings and brought them over there, and I made sure to like take their name tag off, and we posed for this cute photo, trying to get everybody to smile all at the same time, right?

And all in the name of having this perfect photo.

And my goodness, the chaos, right?

And the pressure that this is, the pressure to have everything be just perfect.

Now, this photo turned out lovely.

But what you can't see in this picture is that just as the photographer snapped the photo, see this sticky hand here?

See that?

Preschool parents, you know.

See these eyes?

Just as this photo was taken, this little four-year-old with the that impulse in his eyes flung his sticky hand up over his head to hit his mama right in the face.

Can you believe it?

The audacity for him to do this.

And on Mother's Day of all days.

Now, I have a few choices of how I could react in this moment.

I could get very mad at this little boy who just ruined my photo and didn't even care enough about me and about Mother's Day to not do that.

But he's only four and he didn't know any better.

So instead, you can take it down now.

So instead, I could get very mad at myself to blame myself for not foreseeing every single thing that could have happened and making sure that he put that sticky hand down, and then resulting in an upset kid.

For not being able to get this single wonderful family photo, for not creating this perfectly beautiful moment to remember for not being a good enough mom.

See how quickly that went from this funny thing that happened to me berating myself for not being good enough.

Moms were so good at this, aren't we?

We can take any little thing that happens around us and we can work ourselves into this shame tizzy that we aren't enough.

And before you think that moms are so impressive for this skill, this isn't just moms.

This isn't a skill we magically gained when we became a mom, though there certainly is a new layer on top.

This is part of the human experience.

Notice if any of these have ever popped up in your life or something similar.

I'm failing a class.

I must not be good enough.

I didn't get hired for the job I've been interviewing for.

I must not be good enough.

I didn't get into my dream school.

I must not be good enough.

I was laid off.

I must not be enough.

I wasn't chosen for the promotion or for the project.

I must not be enough.

My relationship ended.

I must not be enough.

I haven't found the right person to marry.

So I must not be enough.

I'm struggling, conceiving.

I must not be enough.

I had a miscarriage.

I must not be enough.

My child is struggling, so I must not be enough.

My marriage is struggling, so I must not be enough.

My faith is lacking, and God feels really far away, which must mean that I am not enough.

Most of us have this lie somewhere in our minds that pops up over and over again through our lives that we aren't enough.

And then to compound on top of that, we have all the messages from culture and capitalism reminding us the ways that we aren't enough.

Here's a few of the messages that women are currently being told right now.

You should look perfect all the time, but make it effortless.

Summer is coming, and you can't really enjoy summer without a summer body.

Also, you could use some less wrinkles around your eyes.

Make sure that you don't have any signs of aging.

And even though we've already established that you have some work to do on your appearance, be confident.

But not so confident that it feels threatening to the people around you.

Make sure that you're still likable.

Your career needs to come first, before any man and any possibility of having kids, because quite honestly, why would you want either of those anyway?

But also your greatest calling in life is to be a wife and mom.

And it's even better if you'll be a trad wife and move to a farm, and staying home with your kids is absolutely necessary.

But if you have kids and you work, oh, that's so sad for you.

But you can do it all.

Good job.

But don't let your work affect your presence at home.

And don't let your family affect your work.

Be unique and be yourself, but only within these very strict, culturally defined limits.

You are responsible for constantly improving yourself, your resume, your body, your attitude, your habits, your relationships get better and better every single day.

One percent better every day, because today you aren't enough.

And here comes the shame that piles higher and higher and leaves us in despair.

Googling and now asking a chatbot in the middle of the night, searching for these quick fixes to crack the code, to find the steps, to finally reach this ever impossibly moving target of being enough.

And we're left feeling defeated.

But what if there was a different way?

A different way to step out of this shame spiral that creeps up on us so quickly and hijacks the goodness in our lives.

It's Mother's Day, so I'm gonna be directing this message at women and girls in this space, even if you're not a mom.

But men, that doesn't mean that this message isn't for you, because you are swimming in these same waters of not enoughness.

And the truth that we're going to hear this morning is for you too.

So with that, let's turn to the Lord and pray, and then we're gonna get into the scripture.

Oh God, would you speak to us this morning?

God, you have truth for each of us in this room.

God, would you meet us exactly where we are?

And would we hear your voice through your scripture, through the message that you've given me, and also through your Holy Spirit.

God, may you be glorified.

Amen.

We're going to begin where all truth about humans begins in the beginning.

Genesis 1:1.

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

And as we go on in this passage, which is a poetic telling of how God created the world, we see this rhythm over five days.

God speaks and creates something: the light and the dark, the sun and the moon, the sky and the sea, the birds and the fish.

And he sees what he created and he calls it good.

So we're seeing this pattern.

God speaks and creates.

Then he sees and he calls it good.

Now we'll jump ahead to the sixth day.

God has created the wild animals, and then this poetic pattern is interrupted in verse 26.

Then God said, Let us make humanity in our image, according to our likeness.

They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.

God says what he's going to create, which is human beings.

And he says that they will be created in our image.

And then we get this tiny poem inserted into this larger poetic structure of Genesis 1, verse 27, says, So God created man in his own image.

Genesis 1:27

Let's break this down a bit.

God created man.

So this word man is referring to humanity, not specifically men or a man.

God created humanity in his own image.

Bible Project defines image as a physical embodiment that points to its creator.

A physical embodiment that points to its originator.

And together all of humanity reflects the image of God.

And then this poem ends with He created them, male and female.

And as they multiply and fill the earth, we understand that the male and the female have been created distinctly.

They are not the same, and they don't have the same role in this multiply and fill.

There's kids in the room, so I'm gonna trust that you're tracking with me of what we mean, that they were created differently in this multiply and fill.

So here's what we have so far.

God created humanity in his image, a physical representation of the divine.

And the story closes like this in verse 31.

And it was so.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed.

God declared that his creation was very good.

The humans, male and female, are very good.

So in this sea of feeling like we aren't enough, it can be hard for us to say these positive or truthful things about ourselves.

And so that's where we're headed this morning.

But to give us a little head start, I want you to say one of two things out loud.

One, say, I am very good.

Or if that feels too scary, maybe too personal, try God called me very good.

Kids, you've said this at Camp Wonder last year.

Okay, so say one of those things out loud.

I am very good.

God called me good.

Now this is such a nice thought, isn't it?

That God created me in his image, and I meant to reflect him.

And then he called what he had made very good.

So that means I'm very good.

But Ashley, you might be asking me, what about how broken this world is?

And what about how terrible I can be?

You don't even know, Ashley.

You don't even know how I fought with my kids on the way to church because they weren't listening and they were whining, and I wanted to be here on time just this once for Mother's Day.

Ashley, you don't even know how I yelled at the car who cut me off, and then the shame that I felt when I saw them turn on to Delmar Avenue.

You know.

Ashley, you don't even know that I'm just pretending that I'm not annoyed with my husband so that nobody asks me what's wrong and I don't ruin the day.

That got a big amen in the first service.

Ashley, you don't even know the grief that I'm carrying, that it makes me resent all the happy people around me.

Ashley, you don't even know how upsetting it is to carry around all this shame of not being enough, and then the pastor on the stage makes me say that I'm very good.

And you're right.

I don't know exactly what you walked in with this morning, but I do know the shame of inadequacy.

I do know how hard it is to feel like everyone else around you has it together while you are barely holding on.

I do know the loneliness of grief in the midst of other people's celebrations.

I do know what it feels like to believe that I'm not enough.

I know what it feels like to push back on this idea that God spoke over people in the garden, that they were very good, and wonder how could that possibly apply to me when I am so broken and messy?

How could I ever live up to that?

Here's how.

It's based on Jesus and who you are in him.

I don't need to stand here and tell you how broken our world is.

All you have to do is open your phone to know that something isn't right here.

But God created this world and us and called it very good.

And when that was broken, he cared enough and loved enough to have a plan to restore it.

To restore us.

Jesus came to restore the goodness that God created, and that includes you.

God created you.

This is the good news that God is restoring all things through Jesus.

Goodness is not something that you have to attain.

It's not more things that you have to do.

It's not this social media perfection of eat the right things and have the right morning routine.

And oh, those cookies that you bring to your small group this week, they better be homemade instead of store-bought.

Because, man, how embarrassing to admit that you love Oreos and you hate dishes.

No.

Goodness isn't something we have to work for, it's the working of the Holy Spirit in us.

The work of goodness in you is the work of God in the world.

The work of goodness in you is the work of God in the world.

Your goodness depends on God.

God who created you, Jesus who redeemed you, and the Holy Spirit who is working in you.

So when you're worried about your body and your pant size, and if you should have a cupcake at the party, God has called you good.

The size of your body doesn't determine your goodness.

Your value, your worth is determined by the one who created you, who created you with care and intention in his very image, a physical representation of the divine.

You are good because God has called you good.

And when you are longing for a husband and wondering if you are lacking something, or just simply not enough, because you're still single.

And so many toxic church teachings that you grew up with are reminding you that your life doesn't truly begin until you get married.

Your goodness doesn't depend on a husband or a relationship status because God is cultivating goodness in you right now.

God has called you good.

And when you are trying and trying to get pregnant, and every month your heart breaks all over again for this dream that isn't coming true.

And then you come to a day like this, where the very thing you most want is on full display, reminding you of the pain that is so big and so near.

You are not inadequate or anything less than good because you don't have this title of mom.

Because God has called you good.

And when you feel this message creep into your mind that you aren't enough, and it grows and it grows as you look around your house and you see the floors that you haven't vacuumed, and you see the pile of laundry that you haven't folded, and the screen time hours for every member of your family are ticking up and up and up.

And then you see that you miss the memo about your child's school spirit day because work was too busy that week, it tips you right off this cliff into a pool of shame.

It can be such small things, can't it?

The crumbs on the floor, the Netflix question of still watching, missing one school spirit day, even though you've done the 20 others.

Goodness isn't something that you have to work for or live up to.

We don't have to have a perfectly mopped floor to be good.

Goodness is the working of the Holy Spirit in us.

God has called you good right now.

Jesus has already redeemed you.

The Spirit is working in you now, even with crumbs all over your floor.

So, how do we learn to believe this?

And not just believe it, but live it.

How do we climb out from under this pile of shame that's bigger than the pile of laundry that we haven't folded and live in this goodness that God is working in us?

Here's where we're going to set an anchor in Scripture this morning.

An anchor holds you steady even as the waves ebb and flow and try to get you to drift away.

Colossians 3 12.

Therefore, as God's chosen Chosen people, holy and dearly loved.

You are God's chosen people.

You are set apart and you are dearly loved.

We're gonna sit in this for a second.

You are chosen and set apart and dearly loved.

Now I've told you that, but I want you to tell each other that.

Look at the person next to you, look in their eyes and say, you are dearly loved.

Make sure everybody hears it.

Look around.

If anybody's alone, make sure they hear it too.

You are dearly loved.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Clothe yourself.

This means to align yourself with the ways of Jesus.

Clothe yourself.

Notice that these things, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, there are they are not things that you're being told to create in yourself.

When you put on your sweater in the morning, very likely, I don't know all of you, but very likely you didn't create that sweater.

But you chose to put it on.

Maybe you put it on because it was going to be cold outside, maybe because it looked good with your outfit, maybe you need layers because it's hot here, but you're going to the city and it's always cold there.

You had some reason to put on this sweater, to clothe yourself in this sweater.

You were aligning your clothing with some purpose.

So when we recognize that we were created in God's image, that we are ones who are this physical representation of the divine, we are invited to align ourselves with the ways of Jesus compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

But listen, this is the spirit doing this in you, not you doing a certain thing to please God.

That is the work of God in you.

So you put on that sweater in the morning and you ask God to cultivate his goodness in you.

Now, I was gonna have two application points for us, but one of them was really just a soft step toward the one that I really think God has for us today.

And women, moms, especially, we have way too much going on in our mind to beat around the bush here.

I don't need to add more things, so I'm just gonna get to the one by the name of Jesus and the power of the Spirit.

Here's how we put this into action and break this shame cycle.

And it starts and ends with this how you talk about yourself, both to yourself and to other people, will keep you in this shame, or it will give you the space to break free from it and really believe the goodness that God says you are.

Proverbs 18, 21 says, Life and death is in the power of the tongue.

How we talk about people who are created in the image of God either continues adding to the same pile or it starts to dismantle it.

And this morning, when I say how we talk about people, those by people, I mean you.

I mean ourselves.

What are the things you're saying to yourself?

Does your voice sound more like I can't get anything right?

Why can't I just get it together?

I'm not enough.

I'm a failure.

Does it sound like the voice of shame?

Or does your voice reflect the voice of Jesus?

Compassion says you have a lot on your plate, and it's okay to set something down.

Kindness says you are doing the best you can.

Gentleness says it's okay that you didn't do it perfectly.

It's okay.

Some of you, someone many of you are familiar with, Carolyn Takeda, as her and I were talking about growing in self-compassion, she gave me this heart-wrenching question to consider.

She said, Would you say that to Ella?

Ella's my daughter.

Here she is.

She said, Would you say that to her?

Would you say, would I say these terrible things that I say to myself?

Would I tell her that she's a failure?

Would I tell her that she can't get anything right?

Would I tell her that she's not enough?

I want to pause to acknowledge a couple of things.

First, that some of you have heard things like this from your mom or from another adult in your life, and I am so sorry.

You never should have been spoken to that way.

And in the name of Jesus, he can rewrite those lies and anger you in his love for you.

I also want to acknowledge all the moms in the room who might be feeling the shame that maybe you said something similar to your child in the height of anger.

Jesus has redeemed that.

You are forgiven because of the work of Jesus.

Let this shame be lifted because God is still working his goodness in you by the name of Jesus and the power of his spirit.

The power of life and death is in the tongue.

Am I speaking shame over myself?

Or am I clothing myself in the ways of Jesus and aligning myself with what God thinks about me and is working in me?

Now, what's important to me this morning on Mother's Day as one of your pastors is that you leave this morning with life spoken over you.

Words that come from Scripture, that are God's words, that are true.

For you to hear life-giving words that are compassionate and kind and gentle.

So I'm going to invite up a few friends to join me in speaking life over you.

The worship team can come back up too.

And women and girls, would you stand?

Would you stand with us?

Open your hands to receive the words that God has for you this morning.

And men and boys, if the women around you, if they know you, like if you know them, and they're comfortable with your hand on their shoulder, would you ask them and then lay a hand on them to pray with us?

Let's pray.

I praise you because I know because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.

Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.

Psalm 139, 14.

You have been remarkably and wondrously made by the creator of the universe.

He doesn't make mistakes.

You don't need to do anything to be remarkable or wonderful.

You don't need to achieve goodness or earn favor.

You are created by God, and he's called you very good.

For we are God's masterpiece.

You are God's masterpiece.

You are made new in Jesus, and by the Spirit of God, you are created for goodness.

May God's goodness work in you and through you to the world around you.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God.

And that is what we are.

Made holy and dearly loved.

Colossians 3 12.

He is cultivating goodness in you right now by the work of his spirit.

You are dearly loved, and you no longer walk in shame, but be clothed in the ways of Jesus in the belief that you are very good.

Now let's all stand.

If you're not standing yet, stand with us if you can and worship together, declaring freedom from the shame that holds us, and thanking God for the great love that He has for us.

Amen.

That we are set apart by you, that we are made holy, that we are dearly loved.

God thank you that our goodness doesn't depend on us, but it depends on you.

Because you are good, gracious, merciful, wonderful.

God.

May our eyes be lifted to you this morning.

And may you be glorified by this community.

Jesus thinks.

God, would you take the shame of not enoughness and would you replace it with your truth?

That your people are chosen, that they are holy, and that they are dearly loved by you.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

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