Written by Katy DeCastro

All life is precious, from the moment of conception until the last breath that a very old grandparent takes.  Having a reverence for the sanctity of life is a core value that we have in our hearts and share with our children.  This umbrella of respect covers all things and so perhaps it is not just an easy way to look at life, but a truthful way to honor it.  Life is precious and sacred because God loves all that He has made and has a reason and a purpose for all humans and all things.

My husband and I have chosen to shield our children from the chaos of the world.  Not just the last three months, but always.  We did not discuss school shootings with them and we do not discuss tragedies unless they bring it up and have heard something through a friend or another source.  We want our children to have the freedom of childhood without worrying about the ills of the world that they themselves can do nothing about and that we, as their parents, can do little to control.  In this sensationalized world where the adults seem to be doing anything BUT adulting, we can only offer them a safe haven of peace to the best of our ability.  That is our responsibility as the parents in the family.

This does not mean that we shield them from the world itself.  We have made a point to expose them to the world in a way that they can understand and learn from and they have met and interacted with all types of people, all ages, all races, all abilities, all socio-economic groups.  They can talk to a homeless man and give him a high five just as quickly as they can play basketball with a kid in a wheel chair or play on a team with the mayor’s son or witness a drive-by shooting in cold blood during a youth group mission trip when they were providing outreach to neighborhood kids still affected by a hurricane.  They do not bat an eye when a man in an electric scooter cart at the grocery store asks them to help load a bag of ice in his cart.  Yes, it’s a stranger—yes mom is in the next aisle—but we honor that person when they ask for help.

None of this shakes them because they have learned from a very young age that people are people and all people are deserving of respect and kindness.  If and when we encounter a situation or person that is new or different, it is easy for them to just roll with it.  The idea that within each person there is a soul that God loves so very much and that He has a mission for that soul here on Earth keeps it simple.  It doesn’t matter what size or shape or color or ability or age that person is.  God is bigger than ALL of that.  What matters is that they are here and deserve kindness and respect.

Perhaps we are old fashioned. It seems these days kids are cut adrift in the world younger and younger and their parents do not feel as though they should or can protect them from the chaos.  In fact, the adults of the world are not taking a lot of responsibility for their actions at all and instead have chosen to yield to insanity, completely forgetting, or just not caring at all, that there is an entire generation of wide-eyed children watching.  It has been a very long time since I have heard the cadence that the “children are our future”.  The adults have chosen to be incredibly selfish, completely polarized, and out for their own special interests, at the expense of the next generation.

We are all God’s children and have the free will to embrace Him or ignore His existence completely.  That’s what free will is all about.  We only have control over a small sphere of influence and we can choose to work within that sphere where we can make a difference or spin our wheels about things way beyond our control.  As mothers especially, we are aware of this.  How we handle ourselves, how we run our homes, how we raise our children, how we sustain our marriages, how we support our friends and family, how we love our neighbors, and how we love God, are the platforms that we operate from.  The day to day interactions in the world with our children are where the greatest good is done.

I know that when my children fight, as all siblings do, sometimes it can break my heart.  I can only imagine how God must be feeling when He sees what His children are doing right now.  I hope that as mothers we can solidify the love and respect for life in our own homes with our families.  I hope that we can shield our children from the chaos so that when they are grown up, they will be whole and full of love for the world, and not jaded and exhausted before they even begin.

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