Dear daughter, you have been blessed with a mother’s heart. It is beautiful to watch you take a toddler by the hand and lead him, to watch you gaze with wonder and adoration at babies and do all your little body allows to care for them. God has blessed you with a love for children. It is a love that he shares.
Dear sons, God’s respect and love for little children is deep. He asks for little children to be brought to him and warns any who offend them. Surely, there is nothing more beautiful than a serving a child for the Master.
As men and women, many of us have forgotten the beauty of parenthood. We have forgotten that the greatest changes in the world are made by mothers and fathers. There is nothing more divine on this earth than raising up children.
Our world is in great need of goodly parents. Goodly parents put the needs of their children first. The good of their own children and the children in their neighborhood govern how they approach life, what they build their community into. Goodly parents may not be parents themselves, yet they put family relationships first. They build communities that support families.
Children, I dream that you will be part of a generation who value parenthood as the most noble calling. Not because you are oppressed or blinded, but because you realize that it takes mothers and fathers to raise a nation. You will recognize that the greatest good will be done in the home, not in the public buildings. You will come to realize that the “greatest educators are fathers and mothers—from Eve, Mary, the mothers of Moses, Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, to the women who embrace and magnify their roles and responsibilities as mothers in your neighborhood and your own family” (Demille, The Phases of Learning 164).
I dream that you will be part of a generation of homemakers who place the needs of children first–who seek ways to nurture those who are lost–but who never displace the important role they have in nurturing the children closest to them, their nieces and nephews, sons and daughters, neighbors, and friends.
I dream of a generation who will focus their best efforts in their divine work.
It won’t be easy. Satan has his grips on the world. We are being led to believe that motherhood is weak, unfulfilling drudgery, and that fatherhood is less important than professionalism. The world tells us that careers offer more chances for influence. It isn’t so. The education and professions we attain will pale in comparison to the impact of parenthood. Yet, all of the education you obtain has the power to make you a better mother or father.
When you have the opportunity for parenthood you may feel torn about putting a career or other personal pursuits on hold or limiting their scope. Remember what C.S. Lewis said, “The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only–and that is to support the ultimate career.”
It may feel like a sacrifice to give your all to your home and family, but it is so much more important. You will find a balance between your needs and your kids’. You will receive more joy in parenthood than what you would find in any other pursuit.