for motherhood & for life
I drove through town, noticing the blue signs littered across many yards.
Vote For Life.
The countdown is on, and I have been praying for this very ordinance that is wrought full of emotion. Praying for the outcome of a vote that, I have a feeling, will be a long-term battle regardless of what the voters decide.
“What else can I do, God?” I mulled it over. How do I fight for life, for children and wombs, in a way that actually makes a difference?
Because screaming and yelling doesn’t help.
Shaming and belittling and calling names doesn’t help.
“Show me, God, show me how I can make a difference in my city no matter the outcome.”
Children are a heritage from the Lord,
children are a reward from Him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the one whose quiver is full of them.
Psalm 127:3-5
I believe all children are a blessing. They are a gift. But how am I conveying that belief to a watching world?
When a young mom-to-be sees me with my children, does she see an exhausted, impatient, irritable mother? Or a joyfilled, thankful, loving one?
When I talk about my children, do I portray them as the blessings they are or as burdens I have to bear?
Do I speak about my changed body in disdain or do I view the evidence of child-bearing, the stretchmarks and the c-section scar, as miracle markers rather than image destroyers?
How do I build up motherhood?
How am I tearing it down?
Because, what if, we as mothers began building up the joy and honor of our position? If we painted it in the beautiful, life-giving light that it deserves? What if we celebrated the gift that has been entrusted to us rather than making it out to be some exhausting, difficult, dream-killing, body-ruining burden all the while proclaiming that we love our children and are thankful for them yet complaining about how hard it is to raise them.
What if we decided to show the watching world how amazing motherhood really is. Maybe, just maybe, if we visibly, deeply loved and cared for our children then other mothers would be inspired. Maybe they would be motivated. Maybe they wouldn’t be afraid or scared of the gift growing inside of their womb.
Maybe they would see something in our lives that they desire for themselves and in turn, they would have the courage to embrace, to love, and to honor the life-changing miracle God has in store for them.
Because if we all embraced our children as the rewards they are, we could very well see a change in our generation, and in the next, and the ones to come. If we joyfully celebrated the beauty of every new life, as every new life rightly deserves, others might be more likely to come along side us and do the very same.
