PLATTEVILLE — A […]
Tag: motherhood
Mothers are often under-appreciated
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On January 7, 2015, during his general audience, Pope Francis lamented how mothers are often under-appreciated.
The pope stated, “To be a mother is a great treasure. Mothers, in their unconditional, sacrificial love for their children, are the antidote to individualism. They are the greatest enemies against war.”
How do you spell love? M-o-t-h-e-r
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In Isaiah 49:15 Isaiah asks “Can a mother forget her baby, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”
This passage praises mothers as symbols of amazing compassion, never forgetting their beloved children. Pope Francis said that a mother is concerned “above all about the health of her children. She cares for them with great and tender love the way Mary, our spiritual, heavenly mother, cares for us.”
A Mother’s Day gift: paid maternity leave
Did you know that women are the sole breadwinners in nearly half of U.S. households?
Yet, when women give birth to a baby, 88 percent of them are paid nothing in the weeks they take off after having a child.
These statistics were reported in an article by Cindy Goodman in the Miami Herald entitled, “Best Mother’s Day gift: paid maternity leave.”
As we approach Mother’s Day on May 8, it’s a time to thank and celebrate all mothers who gave us the gift of life.
Let’s do more to encourage motherhood
As we look forward to celebrating Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 10, it is an opportunity to reflect on motherhood.
Motherhood is something we take for granted. After all, we wouldn’t be here if our mothers didn’t give us life. Yet, motherhood is not a given in society today, especially in our country.
In 2012, I wrote in my “Editor’s View” column that the number of births in the United States had been dropping. Is that trend continuing?
Yes, it is! In checking on statistics for births, I found that our country continues to experience a decline in births. The last statistics I found cover the number of births for the 12-month period ending in June of 2013. That number was 3,932,181, down from the count of 3,952,841 in 2012. This continues the decline in the number of births from the all-time high of 4,316,233 in 2007.
Finding life in infertility
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We were one of those crazy couples. We wanted six or seven children (and still do!) when we were married.
Even though we didn’t have any money, we said “God will provide!” and did not use contraception or Natural Family Planning.
In fact, when we were dating, I remember having a conversation about children. Chris asked me, “How many children do you want? I was thinking six.”
“As many as God will give us!” I responded joyfully.
But, it has been almost 10 years, and we still do not have any children. I certainly did not think that when I said “as many as God will give us,” that that might be none.