Mother’s Day - giving thanks for those who raised us.

If you’ve ever seen a wildlife documentary about big cats, you’ll have seen just how protective a lioness can be towards her cubs, or perhaps you’ve seen on TV how a mother bear fights for her young, or maybe you’ve experienced your own cats or dogs at home protecting their young; something which can make them very dangerous.

This protective instinct, which can even end in an animal giving their life to save their young, is strong in the animal kingdom, and in the human world too.

Mothers often love with a fierce love, passionate and devoted – not always perfectly, sometimes very imperfectly, but loving all the same.

This Sunday we celebrate Mothering Sunday, giving thanks for those who raised and nurtured us, particularly our mothers. More than that, we remember that fierce, passionate, protective love that the Bible says comes from God, Mother and Father to us all.