I am distressed that the modern world's devaluation of motherhood is signaling to my daughter and her friends that preparing to be a homemaker, mother, and wife is "no big deal." This message implies that the recipe for successful parenting is too much like an instant mix: just add water, mix, and heat. I see too many marriages that consist mostly of mixed-up attitudes and heated feelings amid a watered-down home life.

In truth, learning to be a superb mother is a very big deal. Other than a desire for eternal life, I can't think of a more important aspiration for a young woman to have. There is no more meaningful career, no more divine calling, than being a person who truly makes a home. Such a task involves creating and maintaining a total environment of human warmth, intellectual stimulation, and spiritual strength by someone who sees the wellsprings of personal meaning that lie beyond a first glance at a diaper, a frying pan, and a worn tennis shoe.