Variety Tuesday: The Special Status of Children

I started babysitting when I was 11. I can't remember all of the names of the kids I watched, but I remembering something much more important. I changed my thoughts on the role of women and the importance of being a wife and a mother.

I always had career aspirations. I wanted to be a doctor (optometrist or obstetrician) or an astronaut (I was born the day the Challenger blew up - because of that, I was always super fascinated with space and space travel). However, after babysitting something clicked in me that made me not want any of those things. I wanted to be a mom. I wanted to dedicate my life to raising kids. I wanted to teach them and make them laugh and help them understand and reach their potential. I realized how important that job was and how it seemed to be disappearing.

I figured that out sometime between 1997 and 2004. Is it true now? Absolutely. Was it true before then? I figured it probably was. My husband shared an article with me about this topic yesterday. I want to share it with you.

The title was enough to convince me to read it. The Special Status of Children. So perfectly stated! The article isn't very long, and it is more than worth a read. It was written in 1994. Do you remember the world in 1994? I don't. I was 8. I didn't really care about what was going on. I was worried about school and recess and dancing. I have different concerns now and am extremely worried about the state of family life and the future for my kids.

I am not going to give my opinion on specific aspects of this article because I really want you to read it. I just want to tell you that it made me cry. It made me feel hopeful. It made me feel like my aspiration to be a mom someday is an incredibly worthy goal. It made me more educated about my responsibility as a mom and gave me direction.

Being around little children is to be blessed. They are pure, innocent, curious, fast-learning, and trusting. Adults have the responsibilities to properly teach and protect them. What an incredible trust our Heavenly Father must have in us to send His children into our homes. Please pass around this article to those who you feel might be uplifted by its message. Let's all strengthen our resolve to take our responsibilities seriously. I believe that it will make an incredible difference in our families, in our neighborhoods, in our states and countries, and most importantly our futures.