"A labyrinth of Unpolished Scribbles"

  Parenting is beautiful, but it can also be really hard especially for mothers. From the outside, it looks like a happy journey of watching a little one grow, but deep inside, there are many struggles we rarely talk about. Talking to other moms made me realize that most of these struggles don't come from the baby, but from the people around us, family members, in-laws, and relatives. Almost every mother I spoke to said they were not allowed to raise their child the way they wanted. There were comments and interference about what the baby should eat, how and when to sleep, and how the mother should act. One mother said her mother-in-law kept giving her toddler sugary snacks and junk food, even after she had asked her not to. Worse, the mother-in-law told the child, "Don't tell your mother," which made her feel helpless and betrayed. As a working mom, she couldn’t monitor everything at home, and that made it even harder. Another mom shared her difficult postpartum days...

  It’s heartbreaking to see how some people treat helpless animals. Recently, I heard about newborn kittens being thrown away, taken from their mother, and left to suffer. It made me wonder how can anyone be so cruel? Do we really have the right to decide which lives matter and which don’t? The Bible says in Proverbs 12:10, "Good people take care of their animals, but even the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel." Just like we love our children, a mother cat or dog loves her babies. Imagine how painful it must be for her to lose them. No mother deserves that pain, whether human or animal. Many believe that hurting innocent beings brings consequences. Life has a way of giving back what we put into it. If we show kindness, we receive kindness. If we show cruelty, it can come back to us or our loved ones in unexpected ways. Imagine if someone took a newborn baby away from its mother wouldn’t that be horrible? Then why is it okay to do it to an animal? The Bible also says in Mat...