Where No Mom Has Gone Before
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[0 Comment]The night I heard James Dobson singing the praises of mother of five Sarah Palin as a vice presidential candidate just after I heard a couple of feminist-minded commentators suggesting Palin ought to be staying home with her children, I wondered if the book of Revelation had something to say about times like these. Surely such side-swapping is a sign of the apocalypse.
I mean, no offense, but Dr. Dobson hasn't exactly been the working mom's biggest fan. And no hard feelings toward the feminist commentators, but since when did they think a woman ought be anywhere other than where she wanted to be?
Of course, I know these comments don't signify the end times as much as politics as usual, but Gov. Palin's candidacy certainly has made this an exciting time to be a woman, and especially a mom. With a simple "yes," her commitment to run for national office has birthed a new and important debate: Should being a mom affect one's calling?
My friend and frequent collaborator, Carla Barnhill, and I have been e-yapping about this for a week now. While Carla and I fall on different ends of the political spectrum, we both love that Gov. Palin is in this race, not just for the sake of the history books, but for the sake of all of us who believe God does indeed call busy, tired, frazzled moms to take on kingdom work beyond motherhood.
Any mom who's ever nursed a baby while attending a meeting (as Carla has) or while writing an article (as I am now), can take heart knowing Sarah Palin has done the same thing—while governing a state. Any mom who's ever brainstormed with or counseled or taught other adults while her young children bumbled and tumbled at her feet can feel a lot less aggravated knowing that a candidate for Vice President of the United States is doing the same thing. And knowing that Palin has done so while following God's call on her life, not in spite of being a mom but because of it, is even more encouraging.
Not to say her candidacy is all picnics and pinatas for working moms. My friend Lori worries that because Gov. Palin (now famously) went back to work just days after her baby was born, perhaps she won't be a champion of the maternity leave, something the rest of us moms certainly fight for.
My friend Carla worries that Palin raises the bar for moms, one that's already set impossibly high. And Carla has a point: While many moms who work or volunteer may see Palin as "one of us," in reality, she isn't. Just as Palin emboldens and encourages us moms, she also can frustrate us. Characterized as "Superwoman" on one campaign poster, Palin can make us feel like we're a bunch of lazy slobs, that no matter how much we're doing, we should do more. As if we needed that extra pressure.
But, I must say, I see something else terribly exciting going on here. I see a woman attempting to do something impossible, even super-human. I see her responding to the nudge of God to enter the race. And in that I see God raising the bar for all his image-bearing daughters, saying, "All things are possible with me, you know."
More from Caryn Rivadeneira:
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