Authors-choice: Hope & Revival

Today being mother’s day, I would like to dedicate a piece not just to mothers but especially to any mother who is experiencing the searing pain of being a failure in their children’s eye

This was the case of young, Christine (Saoirse Ronan) in the movie Lady Bird (2017), her desires for parties, boys and prom lead to frequent clash with her poor mother. She selfishly wished for another mother, someone richer, more beautiful or elegant and even made up stories of being born in palatial house for her friends at school hoping they never find out.  She was also ashamed of her unemployed father and wouldn’t let him drop her off at her school gates so her friends wouldn’t to get to know him or see their battered car. However, in trying to correct her daughter, her mother often gave in to resentment and anger and the recrimination and bickering escalated to such extent that, one day, to her mother’s horror, Christine leaped out of a moving car they were driving in.

It is a wonderful film and I would recommend it any parent who desires to understand the myriads social pressures bearing down on minds of the young girls and perhaps learn how to listen for the unspoken words and never ever lose their temper. It is important to know that children in their teens are in a delicate place full of insecurities, hormonal desires and unformed ambition that needs proper channeling, and that they just don’t know how to deal with it and knowing who to trust at this point in life can save them a lot of pains, and by avoiding arguments and shouting parent can help them grow out of their shame and discomfort and overcome peer pressure much more quickly. Furthermore, an important part of parenting is correcting children when they step out of line, nevertheless, when corrections must be made, it I best done without bitterness and rancor that only serves to escalate tensions. As we all know, it has never been easy to raise children, but it is exponentially more difficult in our time with the corruptive influence of social media transferring negative norms difficult to shield children from but if parents are strong and hope in the God, things will work out in the end, no matter how long it takes. For some it might take years, many  broken hearts, abortions, and even drug addiction, nevertheless, if parents remain strong and steadfast in their love, it will work out in the end, as it did for Christine who in the discovers that the boyfriend she adores is a homosexual, and another who took her virginity cares nothing for her and that she is just one more among many he sleeps around with, she finally discerns that all that glitters isn’t  gold, and that true gold in life is to  love and to be loved in return and after one Saturday night of binge drinking and ending up in a hospital, she realizes that she is killing herself and returns to her senses and goes repentant to Church and begins to reciprocate her mother’s love.

by Chinwuba Iyizoba