MEC NOMANDLA BLOEM ADDRESS
MOTHER’S DAY PROGRAMME
30 MAY 2023: KIMBERLEY
Good morning to all the wonderful, beautiful, strong women here today. It is such a special moment to be here with you in celebration of Mother’s Day…and yes, it may have happened a little while ago, but nothing stops us from celebrating our mothers still!
We live, love, work and raise families, if we are fortunate. There is one thing that has remained true over the ages and in every home – the mood of the mother decides the mood of the house. It doesn’t matter if she is tired or broken, joyful or hopeful, angry or comforting – that essence of a mother covers the house and puts her unmistakeable mark on everything.
We celebrate this day to honour all mothers and the role they play in society at large. We use this day to give thanks for everything they do and mean to us. We take a moment to thank them for all the sacrifices they have made just so that we and our children and our children’s children may live better lives.
We let them know and understand the role they have played in shaping and nurturing our growth, our character and even our hopes and dreams. Mothers lead by example and direct and teach and show us the way of the world and also how to walk in it.
Someone once said that ‘Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.’ Can we see how deep and how all encompassing it is to be a mother to a small child that is utterly and entirely dependent on you for their survival and care.
More importantly, more often than not, mothers are the ones that teach children about God, who He is, how to look for Him and how to live a life that pleases Him.
Mothers are there for us through the ups and downs of life and their love is endless, even when they are no longer around. An Eastern mystic once asked: How can I not love my mother – when she carried me first in her body, then in her arms and then for a lifetime in her heart. Meaning a mother’s love is eternal and unconditional.
So, we are here with you to show our love and gratitude for all you have done and meant to your own children and the children of the communities you proudly come from. Again, it is such an honour. I would like us all to feel at home and feel our love and have a good time.
My prayer and hope for you today is that God stays in your heart and in His infinite mercy keeps on blessing you with life and love. And on those days when you get weak and want to give up because the world is nasty, you are tired or you feel unloved – you know where you can get strength, acceptance, protection and guidance – right there on your knees.
Let me leave you with this poem:
Wonderful Mother
God made a wonderful mother
A mother who never grows old
He made her smile of the sunshine
And He molded her heart of pure gold
In her eyes He placed bright shining stars
In her cheeks fair roses you see
God made a wonderful mother
And He gave that dear mother to me
