September 2, 2005 6:10 AM
Why Mothers Matter
I got up early this morning to catch up on things - laundry, blogging - before my family is up.
Before I went to bed last night, I had watched some news about the situation in Louisiana - our satellite service had been disconnected all summer, but I had it reconnected. Now I can't do anything - fix myself a cup of coffee, answer email - without thinking how it must be to be left with nothing. And worse, to be trapped in a dangerous and violent place.
Had this happened in our country 40 years ago, things might have been different. But since our society has rejected God and relegated character development to the attic, there has been a growing underbelly of thugs and barely civilized people who lack the self-control and selflessness dear to older generations.
Do you understand what is happening? Katrina is something the likes of which our country has never seen, creating a refugee situation that we have only glimpsed in newspapers and movies - always in other countries. Houston has opened its arms to these poor people, who are grateful for their cot and food last night but who are waking up this morning to no clothes, no medicines, no schools for their kids, no jobs, no future.
And in New Orleans, the situation is unreal - police who have lost everything themselves have turned in their badges, refusing to risk their lives. In the Superdome, people are dying, children are being beaten and raped, doctors refuse to go in because of the personal danger. And the sick people in hospitals - women who need C-sections, people on dialysis. No power, no clean water. And the brutal thugs on the street seizing the opportunity to create mayhem reminiscent of the evil that has pulsed beneath the surface and suddenly overtakes humanity in Batman Begins.
Many of you who just started reading my blog for the first time to find some encouragement may be wondering where that is this morning. I don't know. I am summarizing what I just read in this feed from New Orleans: WWLTV Updates as They Come in on Katrina. I couldn't help but burst into tears. All my own complaints and "stuff" just seems so trivial compared to this threat to our country's integrity.
I know some of us were just getting acquainted and I promise to get back on track with the Q&As and other things we were working on. But today I just want to say - we mothers need to get serious.
In my post yesterday, I mentioned that babies were a symbol of hope and the future. Our country hasn't shown much respect for life since 1972. That has affected many more aspects of our culture than we ever expected. And it is one reason why the job of motherhood is held in such low esteem, something which causes a lot of our emotional baggage as moms.
But ladies, we are the gatekeepers. We can't do much to clean up the mess down South, it's true. Still, there is a lot we can do today and in all the days to come.
For it is mothers who hold the country's future in our hands. Truly, as William Ross Wallace wrote over a hundred years ago:
The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.Which points to how we can respond to the crisis today:
We can do our best to get our own homes in order and to stop dwelling on our own feelings. The first line of Rick Warren's book The Purpose-Driven Life is "It's not about you" and if that's all you have time to read, that's a great start! We have to pray and work to have our own character be built, taking more seriously our call and responsibility as mothers to raise a generation of men and women who can handle a very unpredicatable future.
Our country has been exceedingly comfortable for some time. Even when negative politicians clamor about poverty, they're speaking usually of constituencies who have TVs and cars (which I didn't have growing up) and who somehow find it possible to afford fast food, video rentals and expensive clothes. What is happening in New Orleans is a demonstration of how morally bankrupt our nation has become.
It is also a picture of our sin and how thin the veneer of civilization is - as in Lord of the Flies - when God is not acknowledged as the author of all that has been, is, and will be.
In the 35 years I've been raising children, we've homeschooled, sent our kids to public, Christian, and Catholic schools. One thing I've learned is that the buck stops with Tripp and me. We are the ones responsible for our children's moral character.
No one is going to teach your children morality. Sunday School and Awanas just aren't enough to counteract the forces working to undermine whatever good they can accomplish in one or two hours out of 168.
And if dad's working to support and protect the family, then it's up to us most of the day, isn't it? Dads can teach, but we are there with our children to see that what is taught is applied.
Which is why - even if the world has forgotten - you are SO important in God's plan.
Here's how Glen Campbell sings it:
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Rules the WorldSo, go forth rejoicing and rule the world today. Reign over your entrusted territory like the servant/queen God intended you to be!He got here and wrinkled scared and cryin'
The she took him up and held him to her breast
And he sure was glad to get what mama offered
Then he went to sleep and put his fears to restIt didn't seem to matter what he needed
He could always count on mama to supply
And regardless of the sleep she might be losin'
He always found a twinkle in her eyeThere ought to be a hall of fame for mamas
Creation's most unique and precious pearls
And heaven help us always to remember
That the hand that rocks the cradle rules the worldShe taught him all the attributes of greatness
That she knew he couldn't learn away from home
And by the time she wore the cover off her bible
Her hair was gray and her little man was goneThere ought to be a hall of fame for mamas
Creation's most unique and precious pearls
And heaven help us always to remember
That the hand that rocks the cradle rules the worldYes, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world
Posted in Mothering, Post-Katrina | Permalink
Comments
o barbara, I am feeling the same things, watching the situation in New Orleans. We woke this morning to cool northern breezes and sunshine, humbled before God; instantly aching for all those trapped souls. Thank you for discussing the anarchy! What you wrote is so true, I figured I would see this day in my lifetime, but now that it's here...
Posted by: floorplan | September 2, 2005 9:46 AM
I'm a new subby to your blog~if you don't mind, I'd like to link this entry on my blog?
Oh, and yes, I am giving you a standing ovation for this entry.
Posted by: AJ | September 2, 2005 10:59 AM
thanks - and yes, please do link!
Posted by: barbaracurtis | September 2, 2005 11:29 AM
I was directed here from AJ's site. I couldn't agree with you more. Thank you for finding the words most of us can't find at this time.
Posted by: Mary | September 2, 2005 1:31 PM
You have been able to wrap words around what my heart struggles to say.
shelbi
Posted by: shelbi | September 2, 2005 1:43 PM
Your words about the LA events right now were very welcome, as were other recent and earlier entries.
Also, I just read the piece submitted previously, written by Elisabeth Eliot and was very moved. Thank you so much for all that you write and bring to this site - it's suddenly providing a kind of mentorship I've really longed for... I don't have any close older women in my life (mother died when I was 25 and I had my first child at age 36; mother-in-law also deceased). What I've been reading here is invaluable. I've also appreciated the Choosing Home site linked from here.
Posted by: Allie | September 2, 2005 10:24 PM
