The World Through a Mother's Eyes

It's amazing how much your view of the world changes once you become a mother. I've always been a big news-watcher, even as a kid. I liked to analyze the different aspects of a news story and weigh the pros and cons of all the possible solutions to world problems. My dad would come home from work and sit down to watch Dan Rather or Tom Brokaw. I was usually somewhere nearby, taking it all in, although I usually drew the line at the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. Some things are even too boring for a 10-year-old news-geek. But ever since Molly was born, I've had the hardest time watching the news. I've stopped watching with my head and have started watching with my heart. Now, instead of seeing the politics or economics in a situation, I see the mothers and the babies. I couldn't read the reports of Red Cross workers trying to feed nursing babies orphaned by the earthquake in Haiti. I can't watch the footage of mothers waiting desperately for food and clean water after the floods in Pakistan. And tonight, I had to turn off a TV program highlighting the 5-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I remember watching the live reports 5 years ago from the Super Dome and the convention center. But tonight, I couldn't even bear to look at the faces of those desparate mothers holding their thirsty babies. I had to turn it off. And now I can't stop thinking about it.

I never imagined that motherhood would change me so much. But I suppose God does this to mothers for a reason. I find myself now with a greater capacity for compassion, love, patience, and selflessness. I'm now less likely to watch the news with the analytical mind that wants to weigh the various political ramifications of a situation. Instead, I'm more likely to watch with an attitude of prayer for the human suffering that is so much more evident to me now than ever before. Please remember to pray this week for the millions of people displaced by the floods in Pakistan, especially the children. Pray that aid would come quickly and that the victims would see Jesus in the hearts of the people who arrive to serve them.