As we approach Mother’s Day, I’ve been thinking about how becoming a parent has changed the way I read the Bible. Stories I’ve known for years suddenly feel different — more personal, more emotional — when I imagine them through a mother’s eyes.
One that especially stands out to me now is the story of Exodus.
Not just baby Moses in the basket, although I still tear up thinking of his mother, Jochebed, placing him in the Nile with nothing but trust in God and a prayer for his safety. Not just the thought of the overwhelming emotions she must have felt as he was placed back into her arms to nurse and raise, a miracle only God could orchestrate.
No, what struck me recently was thinking about what it must have been like to be a parent during the plagues.
This Mother’s Day, we’re recognizing mothers and their strength
Can you imagine holding your kids tight and praying with them as they asked why the river had turned to blood or when they couldn’t sleep because of the frogs in their beds and the swarming gnats?
Can you imagine kissing them goodnight after painting the blood over the doorpost — trying to be strong for them, telling them to trust God, even as you wrestled between faith and fear yourself?
But then came the Red Sea.
Can you imagine what it must have felt like to lead your child through parted waters, hearing the crashing waves behind you, knowing that the God who called you out of Egypt had just made a way? That your children would grow up free instead of enslaved?
As a mom, I think I can imagine it … at least better than I could before I had kids. If you’re a parent yourself, you know what I mean.
Mothers around the world are struggling to support their families
But here’s the thing. Many mothers around the world don’t have to imagine the emotions of the parents we read about in the Bible — because they are living through similar dark circumstances themselves.
They are Hagar, wandering in the wilderness with her son, no food or water in sight, convinced he’s about to die. Many refugee mothers today could place themselves in her sandals — abandoned, afraid, unsure where help will come from. But just like God saw Hagar, He sees these mothers, too. He hears their children’s cries. He shows up in the desert.
They are the Widow of Zarephath, scraping the bottom of the flour jar, preparing a final meal for her child before starvation claims them both. Mothers living in extreme poverty, especially those in famine-stricken regions, know this anguish all too well. And yet, when the widow shared what little she had with Elijah out of generosity and obedience, God provided enough. He still does.
And yes, they are Jochebed, placing their children in God’s hands when the world feels too dangerous, too broken to keep them safe.
Every day, countless mothers must go to desperate measures to help their families survive
Across the globe today, countless mothers are facing similar moments when they’re forced to summon impossible courage.
There are moms in North Korea whispering the Gospel to their children at night, knowing it could cost them everything. Moms walking for hours just to fetch clean water, or sitting outside makeshift clinics, praying for medicine that may never come. Moms rocking babies to sleep as bombs fall nearby, singing lullabies to drown out the fear.
These mothers are not just surviving. They are demonstrating unshakable faith in the middle of the wilderness.
This Mother’s Day, as we celebrate the moms in our own lives, let’s honor the strength and sacrifice of the ones facing unthinkable challenges around the world, too. Let’s lift them up in prayer, and step in to be part of the way God provides for them.
Give your best gift to provide lifesaving relief to moms and others in need worldwide
Will you give a special Mother’s Day gift today to help meet the urgent needs of a mom in crisis, a hungry child, or someone simply trying to survive?
Every $12 you give will help provide essentials like lifesaving food, clean water, medical care, God’s Word, and more.
You gift will remind a mom, a child, or another person in desperate need that they are not alone, and that hope is on the way.