Friday, March 20, 2009

Stirring the Proverbial Pot

So, I'm taking some classes online, and one of the weekly requirements is to post a response to a question posed by our instructor. The question at hand was,

Culture is defined as the ideas and customs of a given people in a given period of time. Discuss how cultural differences and religious beliefs influence choices like mother's age and marital status at birth of first child, family size and birth control, and who is the primary child care provider. You may want to share the perspective of your own cultural background.
So, in the wee hours of the morning (blocked duct-induced insomnia), my wheels are turning and I respond with this:

Hello All.

Let me begin by saying I am a Bible-believing, saved by grace alone, Christian. That being said, I was not raised this way, nor did I have examples of Christian women in my life while growing up. I had my first son at 21, as an unmarried, full-time military mom. I didn't have any other options, and I chose to do it on my own. The 6 years I "functioned" as a single mom were some of the hardest and most challenging of my life so far, and had an indelible impact on my relationship with my son and negatively affected his life (not living with his dad). I married my husband, Jeff, in 2005, and we were "saved" together – lovingly adopted in to a church family, where I found a core group of women who showed me what it means to be a Christian mother. This brought me to the realization that my thought process (thinking I could do it on my own) and motivations (money) were completely off.

I believe so strongly that a woman's role is in the home that I separated from the military after 12 years of service to be at home and raise my children. Before you judge me for that last comment, please hear me out! I know that not everyone can just quit their job and raise their kids, some women must work - some women don't have a choice, are not married...etc. I've been there. What I do know is that if you cannot be your child's primary care giver, you must be that much more purposeful about your quality interaction with your children so our culture does not have more of an impact than you do!

Our culture has placed such high importance on the "almighty dollar" and the things it can buy, that biblical principles that were once sacred begin to fade into the background. The pressure for women to "succeed at everything" also tends to downplay the importance of the role in the home. Yes, women are strong, amazing, multitasking queens, but let us not fall short with the one duty we have been uniquely called to do: Mother our children.
So as you see, I was all kinds of fired up, but at the same time, I tried to make it as palatable as possible to those who might read it and, gasp, be offended. I got some mixed feedback:

Michelle,
Kudos to you! I was so inspired after reading your post. I was beginning to believe that we (Washed in the blood, Christian women) we starting to be a thing of the past. I also chose to stay home and raise my children in the way God designed for us to do. Yes, I had the option (I know not all women do); but I took a lot of heat from people that live in the "me generation" for making that choice. Yeah, we could have a bigger house, fancier cars, cool toys yada,yada,yada but I wouldn't give up the time and training that I have been able to instill in our children for anything. I sort of wonder if this whole economy thing was God's plan to bring everything back to "right" Thanks again for reassuring Christian women that it is not only the right way, but that it's okay and a very respectable choice.
- Angel

And this one:

Um.....I'm not going to disrespect you. I do believe that what you're stating is a little strong and opinionated. A lot of people wear their "Christianity" on their sleeves, I believe that "Christians" don't have to promote themselves. It's a person's actions and their heart that's important, not their promotion of their religion.

THIS IS NO DISRESPECT TO ANYONE.....JUST AN opinion.

So, I responded with this:

Thank you, Chloe, I do not disrespected in the least. What I wrote sounded strong and opinionated because it is something I am very passionate about. I didn't mean to disrespect anyone, so if I did, I apologize. I felt I had to explain myself in detail only because we can't "see" or interact with each other online, so you can't witness my silent Christianity (through action and example) any other way.
Hopefully someone who reads my original post will be convicted enough to look more into all this "Christianity" business. "Religious beliefs" were a topic of the question...and I'll use any opportunity I can to introduce people to my Jesus!

Do you think what I wrote was inappropriate?