Tech writer Molly McHugh recently summarized why many mothers feel increasing anxiety about parenting. (Note the interesting title and subtitle of her article.) In short, McHugh writes, "The concept of 'It takes a village' [to raise a child] has been slowly dying. More than ever, people are accomplishing the intensely demanding tasks of child-rearing on their own." She quotes a pediatrician named Dr. Harvey Karp who says,

Today, people think that when they have their child, they know what they're doing, and it's normal to raise them on their own, and if they have a hard time with that they are wusses. But the truth is parents today have the hardest job because no one ever did this on their own and it's very hard to do … there was this idea [that] it was macho to sleep less?—?and there's this macha idea with moms: "I get up with my baby every time she cries." And it's not like you're a great mom because you've been awake 20 out of 24 hours.

Possible Preaching Angles: This story illustrates a crucial idea for Mother's Day—mothering is hard and lonely work. We need each other as we parent our children in our increasingly isolated culture.