I went to the grocery store today to get some things for a party I’m having at my house for my mom’s 90th birthday. Her birthday is early in May so it always coincides with Mother’s Day.

As I perused the aisles for party fare, I noticed numerous middle-aged women pushing their grocery-filled carts through the aisles. I mean more women than I’ve ever seen at one time at the grocery store. It was really busy in there—two days before Mother’s Day! “Are these poor women having to cook their own Mother’s Day meal?” I thought, feeling especially lucky that my husband was having food delivered this year so that I wouldn’t have to cook.

As I turned the corner bumping into yet another middle-aged mom, a lightbulb went on and it occurred to me that they were probably stocking up on supplies for the upcoming weekend when their grown kids would be home! You see, moms never stop being moms—not even on Mother’s Day.

As a mom of older kids myself, I could relate. When the kids come home, I always make sure the pantry is stocked with favorite snacks for our sons and that we have the ingredients for our daughter’s favorite home-cooked meal. All moms enjoy Mother’s day, but for moms with grown kids, the best thing about it is having our family together again. We fill the house with all their favorite things.

When our kids come home we want them to remember what family feels like—the fun, the food, the laughter, the love. Even if it means making Mother’s Day more about them than about us!

And you know, just as moms never stop being moms, God never stops being God. Although we can drift away from him at times in our lives, when we find our way back, he showers us with love, hope, acceptance, forgiveness—all our favorite things—and we know we are home.

I am so grateful for the privilege of being a mom to three creative, funny, smart, and talented young adults. Raising them has been my life’s greatest accomplishment. Through them I’ve learned so much about myself and about the love of my heavenly Father. It thrills me to my core when they come home again, and I will always roll out the red carpet for them—even on Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you, my readers! Enjoy your special day and smother your kids with hugs and kisses, whatever their age. Time is fleeting.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1 (NIV)