I only had one sibling – a sister. My mother came from a family of five girls before three sons arrived. I was fortunate to have two daughters of my own and am blessed to have one granddaughter. Girls are indeed special. They have within them the power to nurture and tend to the physical needs of others. They have a monopoly over emotions which are countless and they have hearts that will melt easily. The idea that men are superior to women is just not true and God tells us that. Man was created by God out of the dust of the earth, while woman was taken from the rib of man, because that was the closet to the man’s heart. She was designed to be man’s equal, his partner, his friend, his lover and a necessary part of him.

When my grandmother was raising her daughters, the fears were the same as most mothers worry about today. Moms have always wanted their daughters to remain pure and untarnished, but today they provide them with birth control devices so they don’t get pregnant. Or the option of adoption is negated by abortion. My grandma knew that her girls would face temptations. Moms today do as well, but are faced with a barrage of the world’s view of what is expected of girls. Our daughters are being taught to become women now before they enter puberty. When I see photographs of ten year old girls with plumped lips and signs of plastic surgery everywhere, or when I see them wearing clothing suitable for the red light district, it breaks my heart. Today for some reason, our children don’t have the opportunity for childhood. They seem to jump from the playpen into the lion’s den in the blink of an eye. There is also the question of gender choice, which was already done at conception. Something is wrong with this picture.

Some of this happened when women felt they were getting the short end of the stick – not being paid the same amount for their work that men were – not being valued for their contribution to society – not having meaningful jobs. The women’s movement did some good for those things, but it also erased a lot of the good things that women experienced just by being women. They were honored and cared for by men. They weren’t slaves, but rather often placed on a pedestal. They were entrusted with one of the most important parts of the human experience – having children and raising a family.

God never looked at women as second class citizens. He is the ultimate gentleman. He has given us equality with our counterparts, but today we don’t even understand the difference between the sexes and why they were created to be what they are.

Instead of worrying about how fast our girls grow up, how they look, what they wear, we need to focus on the heart of the matter – their hearts. Little girls are a precious commodity. Raising them to be different than what God intended them to be, is contrary to His divine plan. It’s time for mankind to stop trying to take over God’s job. We will never be able to accomplish what He has done, nor will we be able to change it to suit our own appetites.