One of the biggest debates for women today is balancing a career and having a family. For many young women in their 20s and 30s, the struggle of striving to attain the career they aspire and their desire for a family seems impossible. As a young woman myself, in my later portion of my 20s, I seem to be on that uneasy, unsure path of wanting both. Good news is I am not alone! As I sat in the UN meeting for Global Day of Parents one of the speakers, Grace Melton stated that “you can have a career and have a family, you just cannot have both at the same time, it comes in seasons.” The light switch in my head immediately went off because that was not the first time, I had heard that being spoken to me. About two weeks ago I was talking to my uncle as we were watching the news, the conversation of family and career came up and I told him I could have both, a great career and a family. He then told me I could, but I could not have them at the same time. I told him yes, I can, I can have what I want because I will work hard for it. He laughed at me and told me that one will always come before the other, that’s just how it works. I said well I want it to work my way, although life never goes the way we plan, except that did not settle well with me. After we spoke about that, I could not help thinking about what he said and I asked myself, what is it that I want? Right now, I am currently finishing up my masters and my main focus is a career, not to solely be successful but I want to leave a mark for change.
Sitting in the UN Global Day of Parents was one of the best meetings that I have sat in thus far. There were women and men from all different faiths who came together to acknowledge the family and what the family should be: a woman and a man equally raising their children. The focus was on both female and male and the significance of having a two-parent home was so much more beneficial for children. It was very interesting to see the different faiths come together to agree on this one issue on the family as well as women having careers and raising a family. We, both male and female, have a God-given purpose to fulfill, and we women were not created to be below a man but rather to be a man’s equal. In Genesis 2:22-23 states that “Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” From the man’s rib we were taken out of, therefore we were made a man’s equal, not a footstool but his equal.
The rights of women have come a long way and there is still room for improvement and growth. Ultimately a woman can have a career and a family, we can have both nevertheless we will need to sacrifice something at some point, they will never come at the same time, but if you set your goals out and strive to achieve your heart’s desires, it will be worthwhile whatever path you choose.
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