One of the aspects of the story of Mother's Day is the background reason for the establishing of the day.
Anna Reeves Jarvis and her daughter Ann Jarvis worked to have Mother's Day be a national event. The first official Mother's Day service was held on May 10th, 1908 at Andrews Methodist Church. 500 white carnations were delivered to the church and given out to the mothers who attended. Two flowers were given to each. The white carnation flower was Anna Reeves Jarvis favorite flower.
The effort to celebrate Mother's Day was not to focus on Anna Reeves Jarvis. It may appear to be that way but it wasn't. The celebration of mothers was designed to help bring our nation together; to help resolve the differences that lingered in a state that was divided by the Civil War. West Virginia was a state that had Northern and Southern sympathies. Those feelings didn't subside after the war and lingered long years later. Having grown up in West Virginia I can verify the fact that issue of "state's rights" vs "union" continue to be debated.
The Jarvis women hoped that the celebration of "mother's love" would help heal the divisions.
One of the realizations we have as we strive to honor our mothers is to discover a way to make our mother proud. That is true no matter our age or stage in life.
As a young person we wish to make her proud of us by the grade we receive in school or the accomplishments we are recognized as achieving. At an advanced age we continue to think about how we live and what we can do to make our mother proud of us. Anna and Anne Jarvis have given us a day to think about that.
The best way to celebrate Mother's Day is to think about and act upon what it means to make our mother proud.
How will we do that?
Is that something you think about?
If you have thoughts about this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to share your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
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