A Woman's High Calling

I love this bird and owl by moloco! I'd like them to fly to my house ...

Disclaimer: The views expressed in tonight's blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of the blogger all the time. The blogger (and the blog) are a work in progress.

Over the weekend, I was encouraged to read a blog post from someone in Blog Land whom I have never met. The title of her post: Motherhood Is Not My Highest Calling.

Upon hearing the title, I forged ahead prepared to disagree adamantly. I consider my newly-minted role of mother (33 days old and counting) to be of great significance in my life.

But then I read the post.

The blogger, a mother of 5, made some valid points. She doesn't like the highest/lowest value statement expressed in "highest calling," for instance. How does one calling have more validity than another? Who determines which responsibilities are more important than the rest? --I'll be thinking about those questions for a while.

I didn't agree with everything she said. (No worries. I don't agree with everything I have said when I think about it later.) But after reading her post, I have spent considerable time pondering the "highest calling" concept. Here is what I believe:

Whatever role I have been given--whatever task I am expected to complete--is my current "highest calling." One danger in assuming that motherhood is "the highest calling" is found in the alienation of everyone who is not a mother.

Women who aren't currently married or aren't currently mothers are no less significant than those who are gifted with children. To those who are single or childless, theirs isn't a less significant "calling."

I have so many thoughts on this topic, but the one that surfaces the loudest is this:

I believe my highest calling is obedience ... whatever that entails.