Childfree Maternity?

I would say that like many American women raised after the women's liberation movement had taken hold of the country, I had a rather sinister outlook on having children by the time I was a teen.  The expectation of women to marry and have children seemed to be the last rigid societal standard that pigeonholed females, barring them from achieving their dreams and accomplishing their pursuits.  I was enraged at the thought that a woman could not be happy if she did not grow up to get married and raise a family of her own; viewing this as a confining limit to the vastness of my dreams.  

As I began to soften and grow, I realized that my perspective was the only rigid enemy who threatened a conformist future of "status quo."  In college I was fortunate enough to take a "Christian Marriage" course, which I found greatly interesting and challenging among other things.  One particular truth that has stuck with me to this day is the way in which the professor presented "motherhood" and "fatherhood."  Great teachers, you know, have the power to unlock minds and to set the light bulb above the student's head in motion.  He did just that.  

This particular professor described "motherhood" and "fatherhood" with such power and authority that for the first time they were not adjectives as much as state of being, and sounded less like shackles and more like privileges.  He said that the love of man and wife is SO great that one wills the other to be totally fulfilled in their nature of womanhood or manhood.  The perfection of our sexuality is realized through the fulfillment of our design and the beloved always wishes for the other to reach their highest potential in every area, especially in that which can only come about through one another!  The beloved does not wish to trap or hinder his love, but on the eternal contrary, to perfect her.  The beloved affirms his love on the deepest of levels by desiring the coming to be of others just like his love.      

This perspective is often diminished through the infidelity and bitterness we are exposed to through the rawness of others' experiences.  The delicate and beautiful truth of one spouse desiring a child to be conceived with the other because of his great love and deep longing for others to exist like her, is challenged if that spouse breaks the bonds of marriage or recklessly conceives children with another.  As well, if a parent is neglectful of the other spouse or children, forgoing the deep gift of love in its time.  

We are entrusted as great guardians with many eternal truths that are often disregarded and diminished through ignorance of what we truly possess.  

I have recounted all of these musings of love, marriage, motherhood and fatherhood as I came across the cover of the August 12, 2013 issue of Time Magazine.  The cover dons a happy couple laying on the beach together, and is titled, "The Childfree Life - When having it all means not having children."  The article states that "the birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest in recorded American History," as well as a 9% decline in fertility rates.  The attitude of the piece seems to suggest that if you are not on board with choosing to become a parent, then you are excluded in many ways from the "societal conversation."  However, the article also follows a positive shift in this attitude and greater support for those choosing to be happily childless.  

I agree in recognizing that not all women and men are called to parenthood, but that it is a great calling none the less; one which can not be diminished by those who feel strong-armed into it against their own will.  As women and men we have a great inclination toward the fulfillment of our own motherhood and fatherhood.  This is not always realized however through the bearing and raising of our own offspring, but rather may be realized throughout many maternal and paternal outlets.  

Recall the image of the tiny nun from Calcutta India who cared for thousands of sick, dying, and orphaned.  The world calls her "Mother."  Consider the mother of Christ, who maternally raising only Him is regarded by many as "Mother Mary."  Talk show host, Teresa Tomeo receives Mother's Day cards each year from listeners who thank her for being a "spiritual mom to them" regardless of the inability of she and her husband to conceive their own children.   

Motherhood and fatherhood, you see, is a much deeper concept than that of a bodily act.  It is an act of the will and a perfection of nature.