An Incredible Look at Motherhood
The kids and I took my husband to see Incredibles 2 for Father’s Day. I was all candied up and ready to see Jack Jack, but of course first came the latest Pixar short, Bao.
(Spoiler Alert – If you haven’t seen the film, I’m about to give you a quick synopsis.)
A little Chinese woman is seen painstakingly making dumplings. She carries this food she has so carefully prepared out to the table for she and her husband to eat together. Her husband scarfs down his portion, picks up his briefcase and heads out the door to work.
You can see this small woman sink down even lower in her chair as she is left alone in their quiet house. She is just about to eat her last dumpling, when, to her shock, it begins to cry. She jumps back startled, and then slowly creeps forward to take a closer look.
Sure enough, the dumpling cries again and then begins to sprout a body like a baby. The woman immediately starts the process of caring for this little dumpling. She hugs him. She feeds him. She protects him. She even measures how tall he is growing.
She loves him.
Very quickly he grows into a young (man) dumpling and, despite her efforts, he no longer wants so much of his mother’s attention. Soon he finds a girl. As quickly as he introduces the girl to his mother, he is prepared to leave home.
His mother can’t bear the idea of him leaving. She blocks the door and pulls his arm and begs him not to go. Finally, he gets away, and as he is about to walk out the door, the mother grabs him and eats him. Yes, that’s what I said. She eats him! (Remember, he’s a dumpling.)
Before you start thinking, “What kind of twisted film is Pixar making?”, you should know that this was all just a dream.
I won’t tell you how the film ends, but when it was over my youngest son leaned over to my husband and said, “What?!” Apparently, he didn’t get it.
I, on the other hand, had to quickly gain my composure so they wouldn’t notice that I was about to start sobbing. I had this strong desire to meet this little animated woman because she was depicting my life!
Some things in life are apparently universal. And the feeling that your job as mother is coming to an end must be one of those shared experiences. I must confess that sometimes I too would rather (figuratively) eat the little dumplings than let them go.
Motherhood is hard. And, to date, this season has been the hardest. Not because I have difficult children. I have terrific, talented, fun, godly children. So this is also the most amazing season of parenting. I get to enjoy them as friends and advise them as adults or nearly adults. I get to watch how God has shaped these great men and women who live in my house and how He is preparing to launch them out into the world. But it’s also really tough to see the role that I love, that has been an intricate part of most of my adult life, appear to be coming to an end. That’s why I can totally relate to this little animated woman and her dumpling dream.
So, I have to rehearse the truth over and over in my head. Here’s a little of it:
Motherhood is not over it’s just going to change. Change is hard, but most often good for me. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
God is all good! And His ways and His designs for life are also all good. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (And the rest of Romans 8)
He who began a good work in my children will be faithful to complete it! (Philippians 1:6)
So, for the next few years, in between crying and laying on the floor praying (just being honest), I will rejoice in the goodness of God, and the extraordinarily undeserved, incredibly amazing reward He has given me in my children. “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.” Psalms 127:3