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Monday, November 17, 2008

the glory of motherhood

why is it that people often glorify things that are entirely unglorious? i hear women of a certain type talk about motherhood as if it was a sacred thing unto itself, as if being a mother (as opposed to a father?) is something that makes her somehow superior. you see it sometimes in the self-satisfied smirk of a pregnant woman who seems to feel that all the changes within her are her own doing. childbearing is a shining holy ground that no man shall tread upon.

but i wonder if that kind of woman ever finds herself covered in baby puke, or digging out the fossilized remains of french fries from between couch cushions, or cleaning up poop that has been smeared on every surface of her child's room, and thinking, "oh how glorious to be a mom!"

don't get me wrong--being a mom is great, and we women are both biologically designed for childbearing and emotionally designed for empathizing and mothering our children. that much is certainly true. and it is an amazing, indescribable experience to give birth to a little human you carried around for the better part of a year, and to wake up with chubby hands rubbing your head and sweet drawings laid out for your approval. but when i'm sitting in church, five minutes before i'm supposed to go up on stage and lead worship, and i get peed on by my precious progeny...well, let's just say that at that moment the glory definitely (though temporarily) loses a little luster.

1 comment:

Stephen Nelson said...

Hey, at our church, we've adopted a "no perfect people allowed" approach... so you and your baby's pee would be welcome here!

:P

Hope things are shiny your way.