Can we talk?

Baby Shower

    Today I went to a baby shower. First one in a long time. They still play silly games and make hats out of ribbons. But the mama, who still seems like a child to me, got a lot of nice things for baby, and seemed to have most bases covered for the first nine months.
    Still, I looked around the room at all these young pregnant women and women with babies under  a year old. They don't know what they have ahead of them. They're all smiles and excited now and sharing information. But if they could see the future, they'd be terrified.
    This life these "children" are now bringing into the world will have to endure so much: broken bones and broken hearts. They will watch these babies grow into teenagers and face temptations and dangers. They will see their babies get sick, and hurt, and disappointed. They will see them move away, go to war, and get married, sometimes to the wrong person. They will see them go through messy divorces and their own children's problems. Their hearts will break over and over every time this baby has a heartbreak or sorrow for the next 4, 5 or 6, decades, maybe more. They will long for the days when they only worried about dirty diapers, crying, and midnight feedings, when they were young enough and strong enough to take it.
    Every generation, I suppose, steps blindly in faith, or ignorance, into this serious business of parenthood. The parent, raising and loving a new baby, is still somebody else's "baby". We can pray that the joys will make it worthwhile and that the community of family, friends, and educators will be supportive, encouraging, caring, and protective of both parent and child.