The Importance of Motherhood

**Warning- This is a REALLY long post**

This has been on my mind for over a week and I was surprised at how much it affected me. My friend sent me this link to an article from ABC News about the growing population of couples that choose to remain childless.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AmericanFamily/comments?type=story&id=3413039

The article alone was disturbing, but it wasn't until after I started reading the comments that people had made that I really started getting worked up. Every single comment was negative regarding motherhood and everyone was talking about how much of a "burden" children were and that they like their convienent, childless lives too much to have to "worry" about kids! Are you serious?? Do they not realize the effect their opinions would have on humanity if everyone adopted their beliefs?? I know this may sound dramatic, but really, What is this world coming to? I have never felt Satan's power over the earth more than as I read this article. He's not only tempting people to commit the awful crimes that we see all around us, but he is cutting straight to the core by destroying the one unit that is most important, the family! Even though I am not a mother yet, my heart still knows that I will be a mother and knows that there is no other role that is more vital, than the opportunity to bring a child into a loving home. I have included some quotes from some of the comments that I read that really disturbed me......

"...The world has plenty of humans, we're in no danger of going instinct, in fact we are probably overpopulating this planet and are definitely putting a huge pressure on the environment and other species, so NOT having kids is probably doing the world a favor!"

"...If I truly wanted children, the sacrifices, inconveniences, and unpleasant aspects of childrearing would pale in comparison to the benefits. My decision to remain child-free has very little to do with wanting to advance my career, keep my figure, and enjoy time to myself and with my s/o (although all these things are wonderful advantages!!). While I do have a myriad of economic, philosophical, and practical reasons for not wanting children, it ultimately comes down to the fact that I just don’t like children, and have no maternal feelings towards them."

"...The female host mentioned that she comes from a big family and having kids "is just what you do". That's an example how most of the population are sheep - just doing something because that's the way it has always been done, instead of thinking through important decisions and making an informed decision."

"...We don't hate children, just don't want the responsibility and financial burden."

"...We have other things that we would like to do that if we had kids, would really limit the experience."

"...I think something's wrong with THEM for wanting to carry a child, deliver a child, change diapers and have their sleep disrupted, and raise a child when there's always a chance that they may turn out to be the next crazy kid who goes on a shooting spree at school or do other devastating things! I don't have to worry about such things!! I do what I want, when I want, and get plenty of peace and quiet, and "ME" time!!"

Luckily, I have a wonderful friend who is a wonderful mother who posted the most beautiful comment in rebuttal to all of the negative ones. Thank you Jeni for being willing to stand up for motherhood and the amazing blessings that come from it! Here's her comment....

"As I read this article I immediately thought of one of my childhood heroes- Jackie Joyner-Kersee, an Olympic gold medalist in track and field. I thought, “Now that’s someone who really knows what it’s like to be a mother”. As an Olympic athlete, you give up your free time to train your body to reach its potential. You work day in and day out until you’re so tired you can’t move. You work through injuries and through fatigue, but you keep on working. You see your friends enjoying their lives and wonder if all this hard work will be worth it. But each day you look back and know that you’ve given it your all and in your tired state, you fall asleep smiling. The little victories start to come as you when small races. You find joy in each medal, and even in seeing other people win their first medals. The Olympics arrive and you know you’ll be standing with some of the greatest people who have ever lived. You give it your all and this time- it is enough. No joy can compare to looking back and seeing all that you have accomplished and all you have become. And even though you were happy along the way, no joy can compare to what you feel at this moment, knowing you’ve accomplished your dream.

And so is motherhood. You sacrifice your time, your body, your whole self to train a little baby on how to become an adult. Your work through fatigue, through hard days, through financial crisis, but you keep on going. Willing to do anything to give your sweet baby the chance to reach their potential. You see people around you traveling, enjoying their freetime, and you wonder if you made the right choice. But each night as you tuck your sweet little child into bed and hear the precious words, “I love you Mommy,” you know that none of your childless, traveling friends can be enjoying such pure, inexplicable happiness as you feel at this moment.The little joys come as your child learns to walk, to say their first words, and eventually to grow up and have children of their own. But as you spend your last few moments on earth surrounded by the people that you love, you know that although you were blessed with a lot of happy moments along the way, no joy can compare to the joy you feel at this moment. Knowing that you’ve given up your life to give life to another person.

As a mother you stand with the greatest people who ever lived. E. T. Sullivan once wrote these interesting words: “When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn’t stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home and of some obscure mother. And then God puts the idea into the mother’s heart, and she puts it into the baby’s mind. And then God waits."The greatest joys can only come through the biggest sacrifices.

If you live your life selfishly, never taking risks and never giving your whole self to something, you will live a mediocre existence. You may seem happy enough, but you will miss out on the sweetest, most rewarding moments. The feelings of love that truly make life worth living."

Sorry this is so long, but it was something that I feel very strongly about and needed to share!