Woodrow Wilson meant well when he made Mother’s Day a national holiday, but he probably didn’t anticipate how Mother’s Day would become a day for some people to feel bummed out.

Motherhood comes with a lot of high bars, and Mother’s Day brings extra attention to our hurts. We set the bar too high for our own moms, and we who are moms ourselves also set the bar too high for how we want to be treated as moms. I’m guilty on both accounts.

Every year around Mother’s Day I hear moms lament, “No one got me anything.” “My husband planned nothing.” “I didn’t even get a break from my usual mom duties on MOTHER’S day.” 

Around my first Mother’s Day, I found myself battling a little discontent too and realized I need to let people off the hook.

God pointed out this truth about me that I bet is true about you too: My discontent with other people usually stems from spiritual dysfunction. If human relationships delight me, great, but when they don’t, I can still be okay. Why? Simple: God is more than enough.

So when you feel disappointed with your mom (or any other person) or about how you’re treated as a mom, let’s pray that God helps us echo David’s words with overflowing contentment: “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you” (Psalm 63:3,5).