Editor's Note: Each Wednesday in the month of June, we'll focus on women, prominent Christian women of today -- and yesterday; women of the Bible -- and women in the public square. Today, radio host Janet Parshall talks about her role as a mother. On June 12, we'll walk through Israel with Women of the Bible. On June 19, Beverly LaHaye and Janice Shaw Crouse discuss their book, "A Different Kind of Strength." Finally, on June 26, we'll hear from Sandy Rios, president of Concerned Women for America.
She's the golden voice behind the microphone; one of the few female conservative talk show hosts in America. Janet Parshall, who spends each day picking the brains of world leaders, scholars, authors and politicians, yields a great deal of influence on and off the airwaves. She is a nationally sought-after speaker on public policy issues that affect family preservation and promotion, and has appeared on numerous national television, cable and radio networks, including "Crossfire," "Nightline," "Larry King Live," "Donahue" and "Politically Incorrect." Each Saturday, Parshall hosts "Renewing the Heart," Focus on the Family's weekly call-in radio program for women.
In 1998, Parshall was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) and in February 2001, was elected to serve on its executive board. Governor Tommy Thompson has twice appointed her to the Wisconsin Women's Council and to the Governor's Commission on Families and Children. Parshall also served as Special Assistant to the President of Concerned Women for America. She and her husband Craig have co-authored two books, "Tough Faith: Trusting God in Troubled Times" and "The Light in the City."
With such a long string of accolades and accomplishments to her credit, it's hard to imagine that Parshall has slowed down long enough to raise four children. In an interview right before Mother's Day, I talked with Janet about that part of her life and learned her secret to "having it all." Married since 1971, Janet and Craig are the parents of Sarah, Rebekah, Samuel and Joseph.
Crosswalk.com: What has been your greatest reward as a mother?
Janet Parshall: Watching all four of my children come to know the Lord as their Savior has to be the number one reward, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Number two - the two children who are married have chosen outstanding, godly mates. So that's been tremendously important and number three, just to know how much our kids love us. I can't tell you how much it touches my heart to see that fruit, to see that they own the principles and precepts of the Lord as theirs; His laws are written on the tablets of their heart. I know they're not just trying to replicate or echo what mom and dad believe, but they are sons and daughters of the King and they live like it now.
Crosswalk.com: On the flip side of that, what have been some of the biggest challenges for you as a mother?
Janet Parshall: Well, the biggest challenge for me as a mother is how to respond to a culture that has tried to fingerprint my child's heart with something other than absolute truth. First of all, that ended up being the catalyst for me getting involved in public policy - viewing the culture's impact on my children. That's been very difficult for me, when the Word of God says one thing and the world tells them something else and to see that assault, that attack on their heart has been difficult. I've wanted to put myself in harm's way to stop the slings and arrows of the enemy from piercing their heart with these hellish perspectives and that's been a big challenge.
The other challenge is having gone through one child with spinal meningitis and the same child getting shot in the head.
Crosswalk.com: I wanted to ask you about that. You and Craig talk about Samuel's accidental shooting in "Tough Faith." How is he now?
Janet Parshall: Not only has he recovered perfectly and except for a small scar on the back of his head, you'd never know that he had gone through this experience, but he's married and made us grandparents for the first time. I have to tell you it's been pretty exciting to see how wholly recovered this little man is.
Crosswalk.com: So how does it feel being 'Grandma'?
Janet Parshall: It's funny because I recently looked at Craig and I said, "Boy, when did you get old?" And with a twinkle in his eye, he looked at me and said, "And what does that make you?"
Crosswalk.com: How have you balanced a busy career with motherhood? You started off in teaching, is that correct?
Janet Parshall: I did, and then retired from teaching when we made the decision to start having our kids. "Balance" was not something I ever had to deal with because I made the decision that my family came first. I didn't have to choose between doing radio or going out and speaking or writing books. I put my family first because I knew that season would have a beginning, a middle and an end.
God exponentially has opened the door as my children have grown. As an example, I didn't even start doing radio -- and I did that on a Mom and Pop station, a 500 watt station - until my youngest was in sixth grade. I did the show at noon so I could get him out the door at 8:30 and be back home before he walked in the door at 3:00. So I never had to make that choice and as the radio work began to grow, as the speaking opportunities grew, my children were growing. It wasn't until my youngest was a senior in high school that I really started traveling, and it was after the four kids were out of the house that Craig said, "Honey, we've birthed babies; why don't we start birthing books together?"
I really do believe that what God was doing was teaching me, before he put me in front of a microphone to talk to other people about what it means to fight for the family, that I had to do it in my own life first.
Crosswalk.com: How has your mother influenced you?
Janet Parshall: My mother is walking mercy and grace. I adore her. She was a hospice nurse, so she really was a classic mercy giver. And tenderness? I learned so much tenderness from her, and I always tell her, "Mama, I wouldn't be the kind of mom I am if you hadn't been the kind of mama that you are." Who I am is so reflective of who she is.
In fact, it was Lincoln who said, "All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." He said it much more eloquently than I, but that is the gospel truth. She taught me to love the Lord; she was the one who encouraged me in Sunday school and AWANA and church camp. She loved music and introduced me to the arts, and I ended up getting a degree in music as a result of my mama. So she sprinkled fairy dust on me and then said, "Fly."
My mom is 72; she has had cancer, three heart attacks and three strokes. And she is still alive and well and just as precious as can be.
Crosswalk.com: Would you like to say a final word as an encouragement to our readers?
Janet Parshall: Yes. When I made the decision, when Craig and I made the decision, that I would stay home while he worked outside of the home, it was at the apex, the zenith of the radical feminist movement. What we were hearing on the TV every night was, "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle." We even heard some voices that said, "Motherhood is an illegitimate profession."
I have to tell you that it was difficult, because all of my college-educated friends were saying, "Get out of the house, don't you dare do this." I'd step out my front door during that time, and look up and down the street and thought it was Death Valley, because nobody was at home. We'd been told that you could only have self-actualization outside the home.
And I had these four little kids, and all four were under the age of six. It would have been very easy to listen to the world, and I praise God that I listened to Him instead. The message that we were being told was, "You can have it all." That was a lie; they didn't finish the sentence. It really is, "You can have it all, but you can't have it at the same time."
Moments of motherhood are fleeting. There's a whole world beyond the sixth grade; wait and enjoy those precious moments while you can, because you can never get them back again.
