Tuesday, March 27, 2007

I sure don't post much, do I?

I have lots of very good excuses like nausea, exhaustion, lots of busy littles...things like that:) But I'm definitely not ready to give up blogging. It's just too wonderful to have somewhere to share my (oh so brilliant!) thoughts. You know, when I'm alert enough to think anything beyond what I can feed the kids that won't make me throw up. Lovely, huh?

Speaking of nauseous...I read an article this morning that literally made me sick. One of the things I enjoy about reading my news instead of listening to it is that I can censor what I read. Ordinarily, I like to be well informed, even about bad news. But when my hormones are out of control, it doesn't take much at all to get me upset... a missing child can keep me up nights for a week. But this morning I read this article anyway. I'm so angry that I'm going to have trouble putting words together. At least twenty-three babies have died so far THIS YEAR in Germany and the only solution anyone is putting forth is to create more "drop off" locations so that mothers can legally abandon their babies. If a woman values her baby so little that she's willing to throw it out a ten story window do policy makers really think she's going to go through the trouble of taking it to a hospital and risk being caught? And make no mistake, these women don't value these babies. Why is that? Why are there mothers who think their own babies are mere trash to be thrown out? Because that's what society thinks. Because that's what abortion IS - tiny babies thrown out like trash. If it's all right to abort a baby, why wouldn't it be all right to wait a few months and do it yourself? We're teaching women and men that children are worthless unless they're wanted so why are we surprised when we find women who take this idea to it's natural conclusion. And what happens when a wanted baby is no longer wanted? When that adorable newborn turns into a six month old that won't let you put her down, a toddler that gets into everything, a teenager who talks back and stays out too late? Will we be surprised when mothers kill their older children because they've become too much trouble, because they want to pursue a career without being held back by motherhood, because their new boyfriend doesn't like kids? We like to think that women kill their children because of depression or mental illness, and that is the case sometimes, but society has to take our share of the blame here too. We encourage men and women to put their own desires first, to avoid having babies until they want them and even then not to let children get in the way of doing what we want. Germany's population (and the populations of every industrialized nation) is decreasing rapidly "because we value prosperity more than we value children" (that's a quote from this great sermon by Voddie Baucham). Society doesn't value children, why do we expect that individuals still will?
I'm *just* a stay at home mom without a fancy title or degree. But I can tell you what it's going to take to save these babies, to save Germany, to save every nation that's on the same path (including our own!). We will all have to believe what God says in His Word about children - that they are blessings directly from His hand. We will have to value being a wife and mother. We will have to teach our children (and ourselves) that there is honor in serving others, in laying down our own desires for the good of someone else. No other band aid solutions are going to work as long as continue to want our own way above all else.

5 comments:

Maggie said...

We had a rash of abandoned/discarded babies locally a few years ago and they changed some laws but your absolutly right thats not the solution.

Shannon said...

Maggie - I'm so glad you stopped by. I'm normally not so vocal about "current events", but this really got to me. You know how it is when you're a mom, your heart just breaks over stories like this.
Something Mary Pride wrote in one of her wonderful books has stuck with me - if women valued babies, no amount of money could make them have an abortion (or kill their child). I just don't believe anything will change until society really values children and how can we expect society to when the church doesn't?

Maggie said...

You pointed out the focus on self, that contributes to so much of the problems we see. People become uncapable of feeling anything ( empathy,remorse, etc.) It's so sad.

Mrs. D said...

Shannon, I agree that it is horrible. Most Germans have been totally shocked by this development of so many murdered and abused babies and children. I also agree that what we - and every other country - needs is to go back to God and to His word and align ourselves with His values and commands.
Still I am not totally against the "Baby-Klappe". I wish we did not need it, but as long as it saves at least some babies from being abadoned or killed, I'm for it.

Hope your nausea will be better soon! And glad you posted again - ven though I seldom comment :)

Shannon said...

Jeannine - Thanks for commenting! I would agree that the baby drop offs (I know some communities in the states have them, too) are worth while if they save even one baby. I do worry that we're making it acceptable to abandon children, but we're already in a very bad situation so I think we're forced to do whatever we can. I do wish that someone was talking about how to get at the real heart of the problem. It seems like we're just trying to mop up the water from an overflowing bathtub while nobody's thinking about how to turn off the faucet, you know?