It takes a village

I found this picture and thought to myself- how perfect. It is an amazingly beautiful picture of probably a grandmother with her grandchild or great-grandchild. Look at the difference in skin. Have you ever thought about how similar people are in their first years of life and last years of life? I think that is interesting.

It Takes a Village

In my life I have heard the saying "it takes a village to raise a child" many, many times. It was not until I was older and now have a family of my own that I really understand what that means and how true it is.

When I was about 7 months pregnant I felt called to be an advocate at a local organization that provides assistance, support and education to woman who are pregnant and their families. I wasn't really sure about it but I went through with the training. I know for sure now that it was a total God-thing. My volunteering there has grown in my heart a serious love for mothers and children- one I never knew I had before. I have heard the advocate coordinator say before that she believes that God sends specific people through the doors of the organization to talk to specific people there. I believe it. I have met some very beautiful, very broken women. Some with great support systems and some with none. Some who are married and some who have several children by several different people. Whatever it is, the joy that fills my heart to be able to share a glimpse of hope with them is immeasurable. My experiences have really got me thinking, where is this so called village?

In the age of facebook, twitter, myspace, cell phones, status updates, email, etc., we are a nation of comfortable communication. 93% of what we say is non-verbal communication such as body movement, facial expression and eye movement. If we are doing most of our communication through means other than face to face, we are losing a lot of communication. The above mentioned kind of communication is easy. We can fake happiness, excitement, sadness or sympathy over the phone or in an email. I am sure that most of us have at one point or another. The greatest problem is that it is damaging our relationships by keeping everyone a computer screen away.

Here is how this relates to the village. Before the age of computers, women in families actually had to visit each other to find out what was new. They had a meal together and spent time together. Maybe they saw firsthand that a new mom in their family was struggling and found it hard not to offer help. They bonded, experienced community and their children always had someone besides just mom looking after them. Flash forward. A woman and her husband who recently moved to a new town are expanding their family and they have a child. Maybe the woman's mother comes and stays with them for a week at first but then returns home. No need to make the trip for the new mom and dad's siblings (the child's aunts and uncles) because they are keeping up on recent activities and pictures via facebook. The neighbors around them work or have their own children to worry about. See what I am getting at? I don't want to discount the use of the computer and social networking to find other like-minded women. I am a part of some very special groups on facebook that I value dearly.

Another aspect of this is so much bigger. It's getting to be my least favorite time again- election time. Where we watch the people who want to run our country spend unGodly amounts of money on stuff that matters nothing when they could be feeding the poor or housing the homeless or something. It's disgusting. Anyway. I always get honked off that all of the sudden abortion is an issue again. Convenient, eh? Just so that there is no confusion, I am pro-life and I don't identify with any given political party. I hold the idea that if you are truly pro-life then you should also be against the death penalty and for gun control. Most people don't hold these views, I understand. However, back to the point, I find it interesting that people are so concerned about the preborn but once they are born, "you are on your own" and "no way universal health care" and "let's cut funding for welfare." Where is our village? I want to know!

We, in our communities and nationally, need to come together for the good of each other. We need to give people a hand-up and occasionally the hand-out. Especially mothers. Mother's are raising our future workers, teachers, leaders. If we don't start caring for the village, this village will be in ruins. And p.s. you live in it.

If this fires you up, get moving. Look around at how you can support one another. Can you be a support to your own mother or a friend who is a mother? Can you watch your friend's kids so she can have 5 minutes to herself to regroup? Can you encourage someone through a situation they are experiencing that you have already experienced?

Keep your eyes open at the opportunities to start building the village in your community.

Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."
-Mother Theresa