Shelter

As this world continues to "progress" (toward Socialism)  there is less and less value being placed on mothers. We can all see it all around us. Stay-at-home moms are often looked down upon. Did you know that many (if not a majority) of women (and even mothers) believe that putting a child in day care is actually positive. That staying at home with your children and raising them yourself (you know, taking your kids to the library or the zoo or the park, cooking with them, reading with them, teaching them how to do chores, planting gardens with them, talking with them, having lunch with them, teaching them how to read and count, sing and imagine, giving them one-on-one time) is actually inferior to the "socializing" that they receive in a day-care situation??? There are people out there who believe that it would be better for children to be required to go to all-day preschool or all-day kindergarten. Better?! Are you SERIOUS? This is utterly absurd to me! It is incredibly hard for me to wrap my head around this concept. - That someone could think this and actually believe it.

I think many out there would call me "sheltered". A sheltered little Mormon girl with an unrealistic view of the world. Let me tell you something. I was sheltered. I was sheltered from much of the ugliness of the world. Sheltered from ever feeling unloved or uncared for. Sheltered from a lot of the social smut. Sheltered from drugs. Sheltered from pornography and infidelity. Sheltered from a broken home. Sheltered by a Mother. A REAL mother. A self-sacrificing, beautiful, virtuous, kind, loving, nurturing mother. Sheltered by parents who taught me to pray, to serve, to work. Sheltered by virtue and love. When did SHELTER become a dirty word? 

Shelter: A structure that provides protection from danger; a condition of being protected; that which covers or defends from injury or annoyance; to shield; a guardian; a defense . . .

Isn't shelter one of our "basic" needs? Because I was "sheltered", am I unaware of the ugliness of the world? I am I naive to the dangers of life and spirit which surround us? No. I've got a pretty healthy grip on reality. Am I unaware of the challenges and pain of life? Or am I impervious to them (or think I am)? Of course not. 

When I think of a shelter, I view it as something that covers, that protects, but doesn't make it so that you can't SEE that which is raining down around you. 

I thank God each and every day for families. For being a part of a church that believes that "the family is ordained of God." That "husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. 'Children are an heritage of the Lord' (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations."

My greatest hope as a mother is that I can shelter my own children. That they will feel loved and cared for. That they will know who their mother is. That they will trust me and respect me. Because I love them. That I will be able to strengthen them and teach them. That I will be a shield for them. That as they watch, they will learn how to battle the manipulations of society and stand for truth. Steadfast and noble. Filled with assurance, peace, joy, and strength.