Here's my take on the whole "Breast feeding w/o a cover" Thought....
As a mom who has breastfed both of my sweet children for a longer
time than average (over a year with my first and about a year with my
second), I'm aware that I'm the rare exception to this argument. I did
breast feed my children in public, but fully covered. I didn't do this
because I was ashamed of my body, but rather for Modesty's sake! I
understand that this may come out sounding bad, and some of you are
already foaming at the mouth, ready to shoot me a quick response, but if
you really step back and think about it, it makes sense!
Let
me explain: You are at the mall with your teenage daughter, she sees
the latest fashions in the window-a low cut top and skirt that leaves
little to the imagination. She begs you to buy her this top, but your
response is a shirt like that doesn't cover nearly enough. She argues
and you go on to explain that God has made her beautiful inside and
out. She doesn't need to be wearing a low cut top to be the amazing
woman God has created her to be. All of this is true-and although my
daughters are still young, I am sure that before I'm ready, this
conversation will be taking place in my house!
Now,
what does any of that have to do with censoring breastfeeding photos or
covering yourself in public while breastfeeding? Quite simply, whether
you like it or not, God created your breasts for more than one purpose
(a purpose we encourage our teens to hold off on until marriage) Your
breasts are not ONLY to give food to your child-although that is one
obvious reason we, as women, have been given these miraculous body
parts, God has also given them to us for the sensual enjoyment of our
husbands. I am not being graphic, or overstating, it is the truth and
one, as mothers, we often forget! In the midst of being exhausted, spit
up on, and missing our "pre-baby bodies" we often forget that our
husbands still find us immensely attractive, even if we don't feel that
way when WE look in the mirror.
God designed our bodies
to be desirable to men, especially our breasts, and gave them to us as
married couples to enhance our inter-marital relations. In fact, in
Song of Solomon (chapter 7:3-13), Solomon describes his lovers breasts
with poetic and breath-taking language, never mentioning their OTHER
main purpose of feeding babies.
I can hear many of
you saying, "Men should be able to control themselves" or "It's
disgusting that they would think about THAT when they see me feeding my
child" or "They could just look away-if they're uncomfortable it's their
problem". It is true, we should expect men to have self control, to
recognize that using our bodies to feed our children is a beautiful gift
that God has given us, but that isn't the whole story and we need to
keep that in mind!
As for the modesty argument,
the Bible very clearly outlines modesty, 1Timothy 2:9 "Women should
adorn themselves in respectful attire, in modesty with self-control". I
know that it may not seem immodest to feed your child and some of you
may even think "you can't really see anything". You may believe that is
true, but think about the care you put into choosing what you wear! I
know that I personally stand in front of the mirror and bend, wiggle,
and jump to make sure that everything is where it should be just in case
I have to climb into a play place in a rescue my little one-I don't
want to be the mom who is showing off inappropriate body parts.
I am not suggesting that women who don't cover themselves are trying to
be sexual or show off, but I would encourage you to consider this: 1
Corinthians 8:9 "But take care that your right does not become a
stumbling block to the weak." I don't personally have teenage boys, but
I did teach high school. I can tell you that teens (especially boys)
very often lack the capacity and mostly the maturity to separate sexual
images from others, however harmless those images seem in our adult
minds. So, I challenge you: before you pull out your breast in public,
look around and survey who is there. If you happen to notice a man or a
teenaged boy, take out a blanket and cover yourself.
Do
you have the right to feed your child in public uncovered or post
pictures of yourself feeding your children, absolutely! All I'm saying
is that as women of God, we should be considering those around us who
may not understand, may be weak, or may simply need temptation removed.
Please don't post any mean or angry comments. I
know that not everyone agrees with my opinion on this-in fact I am
guessing that I'm in the minority when it comes to this, but remember
that no matter what your choice is in this matter, we should all be
proud and feel blessed that God has given us, as women the amazing
ability to do this for our children!
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