I'm a mother. I'm a Christian. I'm praying my 2 sons will grow to be strong in Christ. Frankly, I think any mom who is in Him would have that as a priority. Unfortunately, these days there's a battle brewing. It's a Mommy War out there.
Mainstream vs. AP. Crunchy vs. soggy. Vaccinations vs. non-vaxxers. Breast vs. bottle. Cloth vs. disposable. Public school vs. private school vs. homeschool. Young moms vs. older moms. Moms of young kids vs. moms of older kids. Moms of 1 kid vs. moms of many. God help us all, it never ends. Any parenting issue you can think of, women can fight over it. Think lunchtime is a total non-issue? Guess again. My blue boxed mac and cheese vs. her homemade, all natural, organic, whole grain mac and vegan cheese substitute.
Believe me, I wish I was joking. We moms pay lip service to the whole "as long as they're loved and cared for, that's all that matters" notion. The truth is that if we're not getting in each others' faces about any issue under the sun, we're talking smack about each other in the strangest of ways. Facebook anyone?
These days it confounds me even more that Christian mothers seem to take these battles to a higher level. I suppose that's natural though. Whenever one thinks God is on their side, cockiness is bound to happen. After all, if God is for me, He certainly can't be for you.
If we're supposed to be a Body, functioning as one...
If we're supposed to help each other grow in Him, not cause a sister to stumble and sin...
If we're supposed to love each other as He loves us...
why do I have the sinking suspicion that we are failing on an epic scale?
And as for all the Spy vs. Spy nonsense, let's step back a moment and ask ourselves a few questions. Will my child one day hate me if I did not breastfeed him? Will my child one day thank me for not putting him in cloth diapers? Will my child one day express regret that I vaccinated him? Will my child one day tell me that I thoroughly humiliated him by pushing him in a stroller when he could've been le chic enfant in a Babyhawk? Honestly, I sure hope no one has these kind of conversation starters come from their kids. My sons are 8 and 6 years old. Not once has my 8 year old told me he wished he'd been breastfed instead of bottlefed. Never once has my 6 year old told me he felt neglected because he rode in a double stroller with his brother when we ran errands back in the day.
What my kids do tell me is that they love me. What I tell them is that I love them more than they can imagine, and that Jesus loves them more than I ever could. When I look into their eyes, I don't see all the ways I've screwed up (and if you're a regular reader, you know it's quite a bit) in their young lives. I see all the potential they have before them, all the grace God has bestowed upon us, and all the joyful years we have ahead of us.
I'm just one little fish in the pond full of different moms with different parenting styles. Lately though, I feel like I've been swimming upstream.
Til next squeak,
6 Squeaks from the Maze:
Dooood, I so remember those days! It gets easier as the kids get older: less time spent with other parents not of your choosing.
Besides (here's the big secret) no matter what you do as a parent, it's all your fault. I figure everytime I pull a Stupid Parent Trick or don't fall in line with the Good People, I'm giving my son the gift of years of therapy during which he can blame me for EVERYdangTHING. Lookit that: free gift, just for you! Mwah, love ya kid.
For a funny reality check: http://stfuparents.tumblr.com
ROTFLMAO! Oh Cat, I so needed that this morning.
Amen to what you've said... and Cat reminded me that for every thing I feel like I have choosen correctly, I have waaaay fallen short of some of the basics.
From personal experience, whenever I've gotten too legalistic about a certain parenting path, I think it's been a symptom of my trust being in the wrong place.
Laurie, I was just saying that to Jay the other day. I think all of us, when we get too defensive or snooty about what we think is correct child rearing as Christians as seriously putting that up on the pedastal where God belongs. Personally, I think He respects and blesses all our choices because for the most part, we are all geniunely doing so in the best interests of our children.
Haha, I'm so loopy from my migraine med, that none of that last comment I wrote made too much sense.
Tonight's thought process brought to you by Topamax.
Uh-oh - I don't know what that says about me because I read through your comment no-problem and then had to re-read it to figure out what you were talking about.
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