These are uncertain times, for sure. Historically, the second Sunday of May is cordoned-off as Mother’s Day; woe be to the man who schedules a tee-time that day, or makes plans that do not include honor and recognition for the mothers in his life, whether his own or his kids’. But, maybe times have changed…

Nowadays, I’m not sure if you can practice old-school assumptions when they collide with “new” thinking. Do your own search: “Can men get pregnant?” will give you pages of click-throughs to explore the confusion of our modern world.

Even politically-correct – though biologically wacko – declarations cannot nullify the ancient wisdom of the prophet Jeremiah, writing 2700 years ago: “Ask and see: can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale?” (Jeremiah 30:6).

Call me out-of-touch (as if that’s news to you!) and against-the-grain, but given the XX/XY chromosome realities of gender-by-Creator, next weekend is our opportunity to applaud the women in our community who live-by-serving the family that surrounds them.

Adam and Eve botched it for all of us. To summarize the first couple chapters of Genesis, God created Adam and gave him a job – caretaking Eden – but his order was just to manage. Give a guy a job, but nothing else, and he’ll be hurtin’-for-certain in no time at all. God intervened by hitting the ultimate Home Run: He created Eve in Act 2 of the Creation drama. Now, the mission would expand: because of Eve, they – as “one flesh” – could multiply. Great enhancement: the observation of God is still true, today, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18). Men – alone – are still problematic; given a suitable wife, and the outcome potential is astounding.

Men and women; equal in value, but distinct in hard-wiring. The Enemy has been working since creation to blow-up the Creator’s intentions. God and man, operating in a healthy relationship? That was the plan; the Deceiver saw it differently: drive a wedge by suggesting a malicious intent by God to withhold from humans full equality. Satan’s further mischief has been to drive a wedge between men and women, disavowing the desirability of men being men and women being women.

The distinction between genders was demonstrated by Genesis 3, as God declared the consequences for their individual and mutual disobedience:

“To the woman he said, ‘I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.’” (Genesis 3:16).

“To Adam he said, ‘…Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.’” (Genesis 3:17-19).

Let me pour gas on the modern gender firestorm: God expected men and women to marry and have kids. Women would prioritize their family; it’s encoded into their DNA by their Creator. In that God-given focus, they would experience pain as a byproduct of bringing new generations of Free Will into their family systems (as the Father had already experienced!). Men would find their fascination with their careers – their productivity as breadwinners allowing a means to measure results from their efforts – but be thwarted constantly by obstacles and opposition that would preoccupy them until they exited mortality and entered Eternity.

You can “unsubscribe” if you’re offended, but men and women are players in God’s plan for His creation. Separate, but equal. Collaborative, not combative. Free to innovate and create, but within God’s clear parameters, inscribed from Eden to Eternity.

Women who have risked the devaluation of modern society through aligning their life directions to God’s profound wisdom are often marginalized by their peers. Next Sunday, we should be turning up the volume of sincere adoration as their sacrificial service to our families is cause for applause.

To my Cheri: on the verge of our 52nd Anniversary (less than a month out!), I say, “Thanks for being an amazing mom to Shannon and Erin!” To those now-grown daughters, I add the second verse to this triumphal anthem: “Great jobs as moms, you two! Your husbands regard you highly – as do I ! – and your kids rise up and call you ‘blessed!” You’ve honored God – and your mom and dad – by choosing to be who you are!”

I hope you’re getting the shout-out ready in your family system for next weekend!