In doing pro-life and Uganda ministry work I have found a distinct difference in our culture and theirs which is how they view life. Many people in Uganda go through rough times in life financially and educationally and many make sure their family is the center of their priority. Uganda has a culture of life that bases their children’s worth not upon the financial state of the family but rather upon the priceless gift of the child. Statistically speaking women have between 4-6 children. Uganda in many ways has a culture of life that is missing from America. In America we have this mindset that somehow a child is only worth bringing into the world if we have enough money, if we can pay our bills, if we can have a steady job and fill in the blank. In Uganda such a life would be a luxury and so they do not have such a mindset I think to go off of. They simply love life. They simply embrace children. Did you know
In the midst of teen pregnancies there is a culture of supporting the mother and child and even if sadly some parents kick their teenagers out of the house there is a cultural view that the young woman will grieve what she doesn’t have but press forward to provide for her and her child and or children. Our culture breeds a viewpoint that if a young girl is pregnant that she must or “has a choice to” abort. And our culture refusing to support teen moms during pregnancy has created a culture where children are considered “unwanted” and women are shamed for having been blessed to be a mom. Motherhood does not start once the child is born, motherhood starts at fertilization which means society has a great responsilty to support women in parenthood. Women are told they have to “choose” between motherhood and theri career. Women are strong enough to do both. I have a wonderful friend who had an “unplanned” pregnancy and she shared that she never thought of abortion at all having been raised and it is part of her soul that this is her child and she her job is to care for her baby. Our society breeds a culture of thinking that a mother is not a mother until her child is out of the womb and in her arms. This belief is contrary to the truth as the location of the child does not change the fact that a mother IS presently a mom. A preborn child is seen as a temporary waiting time til he or she is born but this is a time to be embraced with every joyous moment. Society, on a different topic, seems to discount peoples’ pregnant joy if the child may be extemel young in gestation. None of us knows how long someone’s life is so society and family and friends should embrace when someone says they are pregnant not discourage them from sharing as the baby may not live. The by
IS alive now so why not enjoy the preciousness of life inside the womb.
His Love & Care 