Motherhood
is messy and noisy and shockingly wonderful.
Adison Rose...my beautiful, smiley precious baby girl – is also my
marathon crier, Olympic back-archer, and serial nap protester. You would think my perfect parenting would
have fixed this by now! Ha!
One
night a few weeks after she was born, my husband found me in tears around
midnight. I was so thankful for his
helpfulness...and my heart was broken for women all over the world who do not
have supportive husbands, kind family members, resources or even a separate bed
to put their new little baby into at night. I really couldn’t stop crying.
As
I looked into my baby girls’ eyes...my heart was torn to shreds for those
without enough money for diapers, enough
knowledge about breastfeeding, enough energy for parenting....for those with not
enough of just about everything they really need.
The
answer here in Africa is not handing out more cash, distributing bigger bags of
food, or even finding someone a job. We
need a holistic way to a walk a journey with the mothers in our community...a
journey of beauty from the ugliness that surrounds them.
All Too Common Ugly Scenarios
- Babies are hit/beat if they cry too much (culture says
that these babies are being “naughty” and should be punished)
- Diaper rashes and cradle cap easily get
out of control (babies with a severe, raw and bleeding
diaper rash and cradle cap goes untreated for long periods of time and
infection sets in)
- Children often grow up on a diet of
chips and soda pop (that’s
all these mothers know to do...because that’s what their parents did for
them)
I am challenged to resist the temptation is
to treat the ugly symptoms I find so appalling...without digging deep enough to
see Him bind up hearts where they are most broken and turn the ashes into
beauty.
He makes motherhood beautiful when we walk a journey of
gratitude, joy and hope together.
“Motherhood is Beautiful” – a new Baby Safe program we
are launching next week - was born out of a desire to encourage and support mothers
through discipleship, training and just being living examples.
Strategy: Engage with
women 5 days a week (with Baby Safe staff and volunteers plugging in to areas
where they are passionate)
·
Discovery
Bible Studies
·
Baby Health
(breast feeding, diaper rashes, cradle cap, proper growth, colic, etc.)
·
Finances
(creating and maintaining a family budget)
·
Time
Management (developing healthy life rhythms)
·
Nutrition
(buying and making healthy meals for your family)
·
Child
Rearing (taking joy in motherhood, communicating with your child, discipline)
·
Exercise
(walking and dance lessons)
·
Sewing
classes (potential source of income)
So Motherhood is beautiful. It really is.
Beautiful at 2 am with a screaming baby.
Beautiful when you have changed your shirt
for the 5th time that day (due to a seemingly never end flow of spit
up on your left shoulder).
Adi and the 5 shirts she spit up on that day
Beautiful when you’re late again due to another
out of control poopy diaper that has somehow amazingly blown out both the back
and front – with no substance actually in the diaper (this actually happened to
me when I was by myself with a 9 month old Jensen on an airplane – found a
large pile of poo in my LAP – none to be found in the diaper. Let’s just say
the passenger next to me really appreciated that.)
Beautiful when you realize how much
thankfulness, joy and hope are wrapped up in this tiny little bundle of epic
smiles, ear piercing screams, and life altering moments when you realize you
ARE IT.
No one else is going to parent
this child but you. Ministry,
promotions, projects and hobbies can wait.
Parenting cannot. Parenting is THE gig...and it’s beautiful.
Want to join us on a journey to see mothers
in disadvantaged communities embrace the beauty of motherhood?
Find out how to get involved with "Motherhood is Beautiful!" Click here: http://www.karlandjulie.com/info_whatwedo_teaching.asp
