I just finished reading Ellen Goodman's opinion column entitled, "Did Our Foremothers Dream This?". OK, I know I shouldn't have read the column in the first place, but my curiosity got the better of me.
Ms. Goodman bemoans the fact that (according to her) the day that began with feminism and pacifism - Mother's Day, ends up with perfume and flowers. In her own words, "What would they ("the founding mothers") make of a day to change the world that became a day to get breakfast in bed?" She goes on to express that, in her opinion, the motherhood movement has slowed due to many factors, and that really the way to speed things up would be for the motherhood movement to hook up with political leadership. This implies that politics and motherhood have a somewhat symbiotic relationship. But, alas, today's modern mom lacks the faith that change can come to the outside world (taken from Judith Warner's book, Perfect Madness), and that to point fingers at society is now defined as shirking personal responsibility. Huh... I haven't seen that - at least around here people are still blaming society for pretty much everything. Society consists of lots of individuals, right?
To me, the greatest risk factor for poverty isn't motherhood, as Ms. Goodman states in her column, but rather it's our morally relativistic society itself. The society that gets angry when some folks in government attempt to block the slow death by starvation of Terri Schaivo. The society that embraces the "right" of college students to wear T-shirts stating they love their private parts. The society that says anything goes sexually - just be sure it's safe sex. And if a woman happens to get pregnant, society should protect the right of the mother to eliminate "the product of conception". If you do happen to choose to give birth, don't worry... society will take care of your product of conception from cradle to grave, unless, of course, said product happens to need a feeding tube. Clone your cat? Sure! Clone yourself? Why not! Is it any wonder that today's mothers are as confused and stressed as ever? We think that having it all means having lots of things / rights and few consequences. Is that all there is to having it all?
Undoubtedly there are issues inherent within our society which cause a great deal of stress and hardship, especially for single moms. But is the politicization (is that a word?) of motherhood the answer? Better day care, paid maternity leave, more welfare programs sound like great things, but it seems to me that if we don't look at the root cause of the issue, we're simply polishing the silver as the Titanic ship of society's foundation is sinking. That term, "Government Nanny", seems to be sticking in my mind.
I don't see the Church as being faultless in this. Where are the Titus 2 women? Older women teaching the younger women was something penned in the scriptures, not as an optional thing but a mandate. Probably the last thing we need is another seminar or weekly meeting. Who would care for the children? ;-) My heart's desire is that we who wear the title "Christian" become more in tune with the Holy Spirit's promptings to pour into the lives of other moms, other women. We need each other. We need to encourage women to dare to read what the Bible has to say about life, its value, what God sees as important, and how Jesus thinks "having it all" is defined (see Luke 12 - it's great!). We need to live the gospel, caring for the sick, the poor, the overwhelmed. Yeah, it'll cost us something - sometimes it costs time, money, prayer, service. No one ever said living the gospel would be easy.
No doubt motherhood surprised many of us. Hey, I didn't even LIKE kids until I had my own. It is exhausting, exhilirating, emotionally draining. I am thankful to God for those older women He placed across my path who shared kind words, warm meals, heartfelt hugs, and shoulders for me to cry on. They taught me the priceless worth of mothering.
Motherhood Politics? Whatever. As the feminists and politicians wrestle over how to handle motherhood, I'll stick to the timeless principles of loving my neighbor and being sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. When will we learn that God's ways are not our ways, but that His ways are published for all to read?
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