I am a mother so I see everything through the eyes of a mother. When we conceived our first child, it was frightening. Personally, I wondered if I was prepared to care for a precious new life. I wondered if I could handle labor. I wondered if I was good enough to be someone's care taker. To shape and mold a human being from infancy to adulthood. My husband wondered what kind of father he would be. Would he be able to provide for our child's needs. Would he be a good father. It's frightening because there is nothing more precious, nothing more fragile, nothing filled with more hope. You see before you have your first baby, there is no precedence in your life for how you will handle something so big. As the baby grows hidden from your eyes, you wonder if things will work out. You wonder if it's healthy. You do your best to prepare. You pray.
Something else happens too. You grow attached to the idea of the baby. The baby becomes a real presence in your life even though it is not yet in the world. You become extremely protective. You become completely invested in bringing that baby safely into the world. Your mind and heart is expanding. You are afraid but absolutely resolved. Around the 8th month, you are so impatient and ready for this new life. You think it will never get here. You begin to stress out. You want it done yesterday but God knows that is not good for new life. A new life has to come in it's own time fully nourished, mature, developed so that it will thrive in the world.
When you think you can't take another day of waiting, that's when labor comes. Those pains hit like a ton of bricks. Father would do anything to take mother's pain away. Finally the baby is here.
When the baby arrives you are in awe. In awe of yourself, your partner, God. You are offered a glimpse of the awesome creative power of God. You learn something about yourself too. You find out that you have deep reserves of God given power. You find as you go on about the business of parenting that child, that you are more prepared than you could have ever known. Your whole life has been leading you here. You are more than ready. It was all worth it. The pain, the fear, the uncertainty was all worth it. You are more yourself than you ever were. This miracle you ushered into the world this child of you, your God is worth every suffering, sacrifice, every sleepless night, every tear.
We are the mothers and fathers, giving birth to a new nation. It is frightening, miraculous, exhilarating, extremely challenging, difficult, spiritual, uplifting. We are uniting people of all races, religions, classes and creeds who have long been divided. The concept of unity is brand new to us. We have never operated in unity. We have always operated from our divisions. We are replacing fear mongering with optimism and hope. We are choosing the arduous task of educating ourselves about the policies that affect our lives instead of lazily buying into media sound bites. We are choosing to grow up and participate in our government instead of sitting back and expecting things be done for us like helpless children. We are finding our power instead of giving it away. This is not an easy task but the rewards, if we stay the course, if we don't give up, will echo throughout history.
We are the mothers and fathers bringing a new nation into existence out of our collective conscious, into the light of day.