There is something secure about being taken care of by a man even if it means being the primary child-raiser, housekeeper, homemaker, cook, and carpooler. And there is something very appealing about coming at life as equals, living in partnership, sharing duties around the house, as well as having equal opportunity in the marketplace. At the same time they fear for their daughters who have wonderful career freedoms but wonder if this will be at the expense of satisfying marriage and child-raising.

It is important that we step back and try to gain some objectivity, taking a look, as Christians, at the cultural changes we have experienced in this century. If we don't, we'll never quite understand some of the stresses we are now experiencing between generations. I say this not to minimize spiritual realities. They only accentuate these difficulties.

I believe that no matter how complex the issues may be there are two primary biblical admonitions that can help us create joyful motherhood.

We need make no apology when we talk about honoring one's father and mother. We need not despair at the possibility of having a healthy relationship between the generations. We need not revert into nostalgia when we talk about Mother's Day, thinking back to an era in which life was much simpler and we had less complex expectations of each other. We need not come into a sanctuary to experience an hour and fifteen minutes of over-idealization as our hearts are lifted by the "Seraphic Song."

Tears come to our eyes as we see the joy in the eyes of the oldest mother as she receives her rose and the newest mother as she receives hers, and as we acknowledge one who has come the farthest distance. Yes, it would be more pleasant if we could eulogize motherhood in highly sentimental terms. But would it be right? Or would it be just putting on nostalgic blinders for a brief period of time, then having to walk into the dazzling sunshine of a world that simply doesn't square with that backward look?

Jesus is not just the robed and sandaled apparition remotely identified with first century Palestine and that agrarian environment in which life was much more simple. Not for a moment. His day was complex too. There were even snide remarks in Nazareth about His paternity. His mother admired Him, but He was bigger than her, and His mission demanded action that she could not fully understand. He even framed questions which raised issues over just how one should prioritize family concerns in relationship to the rest of life. He called people to leave father and mother and follow Him.

Through His Holy Spirit He guided the biblical writers to talk about life as it is lived and can be lived, empowered by the Holy Spirit. So I share with you two primary words on how we can create joyful motherhood. One deals with action. The other deals with attitude. What is our action to be?

1. We are to speak the truth.

Jesus came that you might know the truth. He declared that the truth would set you free. He doesn't ask us to hide our heads in the sand, pretending things are much nicer than they are. He deals with the tough and hard realities of our human existence, not only in the first century but in the twentieth century, as this twentieth century begins to meld into the twenty-first century. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:25: "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor ...."