8 sides to every issue

My mom and dad cleaned out their bookshelf recently (I guess to make room for grandbaby books). Tim and I received a large, exciting shipment of new books to peruse. Among them was a book on the women of India that immediately grabbed my attention. I'm a sucker for books that get me worked up over other people's living conditions. A Thousand Splendid Suns had me going for several months (amazing book - I highly recommend it!!)

Anyway, May You Be The Mother of a Hundred Sons explores women's issues in India. I'm only half way, but she's already talked about daily life for women in India, bride burnings over dowries and female infanticide. Hardly a light read. 

Most of the time, I'm very quick to judge people, their actions, beliefs, moral integrity, logic/reason. I'm wrong. Maybe I'm right to believe that infanticide is wrong, but I'm wrong when I judge without even hearing the whole story. The whole story might not change my opinion that sin is sin, but I might learn why these parents thought it was the right thing to do at the time. I might understand that they are hurt by their decision; that they didn't selfishly hate the baby for being female; that as impoverished women, these mothers believed they were protecting their daughters from the life they live. Maybe the whole story is more involved than I see on the surface.

I know this is a dark topic for a Tuesday, but it's what's on my heart right now.