Are your eyes watering at the thought of Mother’s Day? You’re not alone. Flower displays are everywhere. Commercials fill your TV. Your social media algorithm is flooded with posts of daughters and their moms, and too, advertisements for Mother’s Day spam your feed. And whether your mom passed away last week, last year, or twenty years ago, Mother’s Day can feel like everyone else around you is celebrating something you can’t reach.
Experiencing Mother’s Day without your mom is painful, upsetting, and can feel like God is playing a cruel trick on you. Mother’s Day grief is a real thing, and words fall short to describe the pain you’re experiencing and the anger towards God that you’re feeling. While we can’t take away the sting of missing your mom on Mother’s Day, our team at Ask About My Faith wants to share 5 Bible verses for grief to help you weather the storm this May.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. - Psalm 147:3
5 Bible Verses for Mother’s Day Grief
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” - Matthew 5:4
Mother’s Day without your mom is awful. While others may tell you to suck it up and get over it, Jesus says the opposite. If you’re experiencing mourning and Mother’s Day grief, Matthew 5:4 is a Bible verse for grief that carries a weighty promise: God Himself has promised to comfort you. His comfort towards you can come through personal encounters with Him, through reading Bible verses for comfort, through listening to encouraging worship music, and even through the love and care from healthy friends and family members.
Learn more about how God comforted our friend Brady after his mother passed away:
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit - Psalm 34:18
When you’re missing mom on Mother’s Day, it's all too easy to feel alone and isolated. Thankfully, this Bible verse for Mother’s Day grief reminds you that God is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are feeling crushed.
Related Post: How to Trust God When Life Isn’t Going Well
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles. - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
The statement “God cares for you” can feel cliché, but it isn’t. God is able to comfort you in any trouble and any pain. He is the Father of compassion, even for Mother’s Day grief.
Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved - Psalm 55:2
Sometimes, we can feel like we want to carry everything on our own and show others that we’re strong enough to handle it. However, you don’t have to carry Mother’s Day grief on your own. Healing after losing your mother involves casting your burden, your anger, and your grief on the Lord. Whatever you’re feeling, God can handle it. He is not intimidated by your pain.
Related Post: Is There a Difference Between Righteous Anger & Normal Anger?
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain - Revelation 21:4
The promise that Mother’s Day grief will end is written about in the Bible. In the book of Revelation, we read that at the end of the age, Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes and that there will be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain. How good it is to know that grief has an expiration date!
You can have assurance of eternal life today and enjoy the promise of God to make all the wrong things new. Discover how to surrender your life to Him and receive the hope He offers in our blog: This is For You!
Mother’s Day Grief is Not a Problem to Be Solved
We live in a culture that expects grief to have a neat, predictable timeline. Mother’s Day grief, just like any other form of grief, doesn’t come with a schedule, a warning, or a projected end date. Grief isn’t something you can reason away.
Thankfully, we see that Jesus experienced grief and that He wasn’t afraid to cry. In John 11:35, we read that Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus didn’t weep because He didn’t know what would happen or because He lacked faith to heal Lazarus, Jesus wept because He loved him and loss hurts even with the promise of resurrection. As grief rises to the surface for you this Mother’s Day, here are four simple steps to help you walk through it:
1. If you can, plan ahead for Mother’s Day: Setting a yearly, recurring calendar reminder two to three weeks ahead of Mother’s Day is a great way to beat the overwhelming stress of Mother’s Day grief. Planning ahead with things that bring you joy and intentionally declining things that drain you is important. Whether you prefer to be with family, take intentional time away from the daily grind, schedule a vacation, volunteer at a shelter, or buy yourself flowers to fill your home with the reminder of new life, planning ahead for Mother’s Day can shield you from the chaos of the season.
2. Find people who will be with you in your grief: Even though being around people may be the last thing you want to do this Mother’s Day, it’s essential that you get around people you trust. You don’t have to share, process, or cry if you don’t feel comfortable: you just need safe and kind people to be with you on this triggering day.
As waves of grief come this Mother’s Day, you can ask your close friends to come over on the night of. You can watch your favorite movie, play your favorite board game, or go out to dinner at one of your favorite places. Redeeming Mother’s Day after your mom has passed is a great way to honor your mom and provide peace for your soul.
3. Remember that you don’t need to pretend to be okay: Sometimes the worst part of Mother’s Day grief is feeling like there’s an invisible expectation to act like you’re okay. No one expects this of you. Missing your mom on Mother’s Day is a natural part of the grieving process. Healing after losing your mother means experiencing the waves of grief as they come and crying when you need to, smiling when it feels natural, and laughing when memories of joy rise to the surface.
You may feel sadness, anger, numbness, or even moments if joy as you move through Mother’s Day grief – all of this is allowed, healthy, and good. Grief doesn’t follow a script, and there isn’t a wrong way to miss your mother.
4. Pray through your grief, don’t try to hide it: As Christians, sometimes we can tiptoe around grief, pain, and anguish in the place of prayer. Psalm 139 says that God knows every thought before we have it and every word before it’s on our tongue! So, as you experience Mother’s Day grief, pray through it. Bring the ache and the anger you feel directly to God. There is no need for polished words or performative prayers. The Psalms are full of songs of lament and raw, unfiltered grief directed straight at God. Here are examples of some honest Mother’s Day grief prayers that you may find helpful:
“God, I miss her. Why did you have to take her so soon?”
“I don’t know how I am going to get through today. Please help me.”
“Everything hurts, and everything is numb. I don’t want to feel nothing and everything at the same time.”
“God, I feel so empty and so hurt. Help me out of this pain I’m in.”
“God, I don’t know what to do today. I hate that today is Mother’s Day. Is there anything you’d like me to do or not do today?”
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope - 1 Thessalonians 4:13
Conclusion
Mother’s Day without mom is upsetting because it was never supposed to be this way. Death is awful. But thankfully, you’re not alone. Even though you may feel alone in the midst of grief, the truth is that you are loved, cared for, and there are people who want to come around you during this time. Our team at Ask About My Faith is praying that you will feel loved, held, and cherished this Mother’s Day and that you will experience the redemptive power of God’s love amidst the promise of the resurrection to come. We are praying Numbers 6:24-26 over you as you enter this Mother’s Day season:
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. - Numbers 6:24-26
