Just read this:
"His authority on earth allows us to dare to go to all the nations. His authority in heaven gives us our only hope of success. And His presence with us leaves us no other choice."
- John Stott
My daily confession: "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief."
The peace of Christ be with you, me, be with us.
FYI:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.maryknollmagazine.org/index.php/magazines/240-maryknoll-in-chinatown
Thoughts on Motherhood
ReplyDeleteWhile I think it is right and wonderful that women today have more equality of opportunity than ever before, I don't envy the conflicts and dilemmas that modern women have. With the rise of feminism in the 70's, an appreciation for and the value that society puts on motherhood has become denigrated.
I once caught part of a documentary on PBS that was about the lifestyles of Orthodox Jews. The men work and their wives stay at home and raise the children. The PBS journalist asked one of men what he felt about the fact that he had a career while his wife humbly stayed home. Did he think that was right? He said that on the contrary, his role in the family was not nearly as important as his wife's. He said that all he did was go out to earn the money to provide for his family economically. His wife's job in staying at home and raising the children was far more important to the family than his role in merely making money. The raising of the children was of the highest importance because they were the future of the community of Israel. The mothers role was head and shoulders much more important to the family and community than his being the breadwinner. He actually put it more emphatically than that, but I am not able to convey it as well.
That really struck me. Your, mine, and everyone else's children are the future of the world. What that man said about the value and importance of mothers to the future of the world was acutely wise, perhaps the wisest thing that I have ever heard about how to build a better society. The development, welfare, and education of children should be the highest priority for society. In America, today, quite clearly that is not the case overall.
It is a shame that to some extent, the value of motherhood has gotten a little lost in a trade-off with greater educational and career options for women. And quite honestly, I am glad that I am not a woman who has to face the kind of choices that exist for them today.
I do want to respect women's freedom and personal choices. If particular women choose not to have children, fine. And I think that if women can enter careers and or/be financially successful in a way that they feel compensated for not having children of their own, I am fine with that. Actually from work, I know a few older and now retired who never had children and who started working in volunteer roles with children outside of work before they retired, with plans of continuing after retirement. They find it very fulfilling. And they are strongly/emotionally involved in the lives of their nieces and nephews. So things have a way of balancing out in life.
At the very least, I wish that women as a whole, but especially women intellectuals, and the highly educated and careerist ones would esteem women who choose to be mothers. I wish that women who want to be mother and who do value motherhood would value themselves and their calling more.
P.S. I didn't plan on mentioning this but as an example of what a mother can accomplish, I submit to you the case of President Barrack Obama's mother. He was raised by a single mother; yet, with the quality of attention and effort that she paid to this development, look what she accomplished: a black man raised by a single mother becomes president of the United States. How did that happen? It only happened because of his mother!!