Open our eyes!

On this Mother’s Day, open our eyes to see a young Syrian mother, clinging to her toddler in an over-crowded refugee camp, which has been her home for far too long. See her there, bereft of hope.

Let us see the Congolese mother, in forced slavery, with her two boys alongside her. There they are trapped, digging for minerals that will help make a smartphone for someone like me.

We can’t close our eyes to women on dark streets across the globe, selling their bodies and souls, fending for a future for their kids that will take them away from this terrible trade.

Look upon the dusty, arid ground and see grandmother, mother and daughter, all without food in the hungriest nation on the planet, the Central African Republic. There is no food, but there are the bonds of enduring love.

Let us see a weeping middle-aged man, standing alone in tears, in the heart of New York City, having lost his aged mother to COVID-19 – not at all another virus statistic to him, rather a cherished loved one now gone.

Open our eyes to see the young mother from Iran, with her three children, struggling to make ends meet here in Melbourne, hoping and praying that their husband and father will not always call Manus home. See them here, holding onto dreams and yearning for true freedom.

We have to see, we must see, the frightened young mother of three, who on Mother’s Day 2020 may finally have the courage and opportunity to flee violence and abuse. Pray for her, stand with her, be a voice for her.

And dear God may we never close our eyes to see a loving mother, broken by the pain – sitting in the heart of the great southland – grieving another young First Australian male, lost all too young.

And there are more to see, women we all know, women we love and care for, who long for today and all that it represents to pass.

Yes in a world where there are so many reasons for celebration, open our eyes afresh to the need for lamentation.

Open our eyes!

Open our eyes to see people, places, situations and circumstances, which on this Mother’s Day, break the heart of God.

Yes Lord, disturb me in my comfort again, shake me from my slumber, move me beyond my needs, give me fresh perspective, open my eyes, break my heart! And more, fuel my burden and passion to act on this lament!