In my experience, communicating the effect of sin on God’s perfect creation actually brings moms relief. They see their own inability to stop unfortunate events—natural disasters, drunk drivers, epidemics, and so on. The Holy Spirit uses that realization to reveal their hopelessness and lack of peace apart from Christ.

I was not a mother before coming to the mission field, so I was a casual bystander in the US culture’s so-called “mommy wars.” I listened as my friends who had kids talked about the hills they choose to die on: breastfed vs. formula-fed, disposable vs. cloth diapers, sleep training vs. baby-led schedules. I’ll escape all of this, I thought, knowing I’d be moving to a faraway country where passionate, vocal moms couldn’t find me once I became a mother.

My plan was foiled.

When my husband and I welcomed our daughter in a South Asian hospital, it took all of ten minutes for the advice to start flooding my recovery room. Wrap her like this. Massage her legs every day. Carry her horizontally, not vertically. Never take her outside without a blanket (even though it’s eighty degrees).

People in South Asia have the best intentions when they give advice. They know I’m a new mom living in a foreign country without my own mother, so how am I supposed to know how to care for a newborn? Therefore, they believe, the responsibility to educate me falls squarely on their shoulders, and they won’t let me down.

A couple of months after my daughter’s birth, I was strolling her on a walk when an older woman took one look at my daughter’s bare feet and said I must immediately put black dots on her heels. She explained that because my daughter is so beautiful, people may look at her with bad intentions. Their ominous glances make her susceptible to demonic powers, and applying black dots will protect her from that evil influence.

I wrestled with the opportunity at hand. This neighbor’s advice was saturated with spirituality. It should have been an easy entry to the gospel, but I honestly wasn’t prepared. When our conversation ended, I kicked myself for missing a chance to share something about Jesus. Since then, I’ve prayed about ways I can respond. I also asked other moms on the mission field how they share the gospel with people who like to give superstitious advice. Here’s what I’ve learned.

We All Care about Our Kids

I’ve learned to lay a shared foundation rather than jumping right into a spiritual conversation. When a South Asian mom told me she puts black eyeliner around the lids of her baby’s eyes to ward off evil, it was obvious she cared deeply for her child. And don’t we all?

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