My Grandmother once remarked something about if you ask why? on something that you were likely to find out.

Well, I have come to an understanding of certain things in these last several months that I never before could fathom how anybody could do that.

I used to be completely at a loss to understand the news stories where mothers could kill their (usually all of them at one time) children. It leads from depression, despair and hopelessness. I have seen those roads opened in my life and have throughly refused to go down them.

The experience has created great empathy within me. And I have often sat pondering how does a society protect mothers from this? Our society is not set up to honor motherhood anymore. In many ways the media ridicules us on every side. And then we feed upon it's influences allowing shows like Martha Steward and houses seen in Country Living to make us think that our little hole in the weather, with children's scribbles on the wall, dirty diapers stinking up the garbage, and mismatched dishes, is not worth maintaining or investing in.

Yet if we hearken to the one or two voices out there proclaiming the value of what we do in our little, humble, well used, homes then we at least know that what is required of us as parents (in the Lord's eyes) is that we nurture and care for and teach our children.

He doesn't require of us to be rich, hold a prestigious job, own a boat or RV, keep a well decorated house. Those things are distractions from our real work, and our real hope and glory.
When we keep our minds focused on the things of eternal importance, despair and hopelessness flee. Indeed, they cannot stand against the hope of eternal life and the joy in building His kingdom on earth.