Voices of the World

I hardly ever read the newspaper. I get sufficient current events from my husband's daily perusal of Yahoo News and other sites he checks. However, I was scanning the paper the day after the inauguration while at my parents' house. I just couldn't resist viewing all the details of the historical event even though it was one that caused me grief.

An article caught my eye and a quick reading of it caused chills to go up and down my spine. The headline read, "Mom says voices told her to kill". I won't go into all the details; but a 23-year-old mother of two little girls, ages 4 and 2, was giving them a bath and started hearing voices telling her to drown them. Everyone that knew her was shocked, including the girls' father, who rushed home to find her calmly seated on the couch while his precious daughters lay dead in the upstairs bathroom. Tears came to my eyes as I read the article, and I don't even remotely know the two children. Of course, the courts are debating the mother's sanity and the trial continues. Who knows if she really heard voices? Maybe she is mentally impaired. Perhaps it was the devil himself speaking to her. But, the thing that hit me the hardest was the comment she made to the detectives. The article stated, "She told detectives that she loved her daughters, but that she felt confined in her life and the kids were part of it." I've read this same idea before, and so have you. It's actually quite popular these days.

"Children are confining. Limit them to one, at the most two."
"Staying home with your children is outdated. You waste your life by giving up a career to be a full-time mother. You will never be fulfilled changing diapers and wiping noses all day."
"Just wait until your kids are in school. Then you'll get your freedom back!"
"I am not ready for the responsibility of raising children yet. My only choice is to abort."

I am in no way excusing what this mother did. I abhor sin in all its forms. Murdering an innocent child enrages me! However, she was just carrying the "voices" of the world to their natural end. Children are inconvenient. When they encumber my life too much, I will simply rid myself of them. Those same two little girls could have been killed without a question from the courts or the world in general just 2 and 4 years earlier while she carried them in her womb. No trial would have been held. She would have been considered perfectly sane to want to murder her children before they ever saw the outside world (or perhaps when they were inches from it).

It's not my desire to be graphic or grotesque. I know this is a blog to encourage you. However, we must be challenged not to give up in our quest to be Godly mothers and to fight the culture's philosophies.

How many times have I said or thought things like this:

"These kids are driving me nuts!"
"I just need some time away from them."
"I can't take you guys anywhere the way you act up!"
"I never get to do what I want!"

My prayer is that the Lord will help me to "love [my] children" as Titus 2 teaches. To consider them a blessing, as God sees them, instead of a curse, like the world sees them. To hold them close and realize that I am training the next generation. To kiss their chubby cheeks and realize that I am only loaned them for a short time because they are ultimately God's. To understand that I am doing the work of eternity. Most importantly, I need His help to keep my ear tuned to the Voice that matters...the Voice of His Sweet Spirit and the Word of God.