What Kind of a World Will My Daughter(s) Grow Up In?
The title says it all. It's up for interpretation. The post should end here. But it doesn't. So here's my interpretation of it. It is my title, after all.
I'm jumping in fast and furious. My first blog post will be a serious one. With sarcastic undertones, of course. But there's nothing I'd rather do on a rainy Sunday afternoon than type all the things that have been on my heart this past week. Except maybe watch "Call the Midwife."
I am worried about what kind of a world my children, my daughter(s) in particular, will grow up in. There is an "s" in parentheses after the word daughter because I don't know how many I might one day be a Mama to. As a 21 year old University student, this shouldn't be such a worry of mine. But it is. It's a daily worry. And it's partly anxiety, but it's also partly the world we live in.
When the time comes, I want to be one heck of a Brave Mama but there are so many reasons to be afraid.
I am afraid they won't love God the way I do. I am afraid they won't believe they are beautiful even if I tell them every day. I am afraid they will believe the lies the world will tell them because the world is awfully persistent. I am afraid they'll get hurt and I won't know how to heal their hearts no matter how I try. But what I'm most afraid of (this week) is that they'll be victims of or culprits to gossip.
gos·sip
ˈɡäsəp/
noun
casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.
Gossip? It's killing me. I cannot with any of the evens. I simply. Cannot. Even. Gossip doesn't build community up, it breaks it down. And it's hard to build that community back up from less than nothing. Gossip wrecks everyone, but it seems to shake women right to their core. Gossip thwarts a women's idea of herself. It breaks her heart. It's unfair, unjust, and ugly. It's killing me.
I'm not going to pretend that I've never gossiped before because I have. I still do. But the moment I recognize it in myself, I hate it. It kills me. There is nothing Godly about gossip. There is nothing good about gossip. There is nothing gracious about gossip.
And the worst part? The worst part is that this message has been preached, screamed, posted, taught, sung, written, pinned, and tweeted before. And gossip is still everywhere. Every. Where. Just you listen. Now stop listening. Because it isn't true. It isn't.
