Following on from the thoughts I posted on Thursday, I came across an article (HT: Amy) challenging us again to have a correct view of our children.While it might not be in the plan of God for all of us to have 6, 7, 8 or 9 kids, it is his will that we ditch the (at times) worldly view that our children are burdens and not blessings. Here's an excerpt from the article by Barbara Curtis, which can be found here.
As our family continued to grow, I continued to hear the same belittling banter about kids I’d heard for years – only now it was on my church steps:
“I don’t know how you do it! My two are enough to drive me crazy!”
“I’ve finally got all the kids in school. I can’t imagine having to deal with another baby!”
“I wanted more but my husband put his foot down.”
“How can you afford it?”
My heart would ache for any children in earshot. My heart would ache for the missed opportunities. And finally, my heart would ache for the misunderstanding of how it all must sound to God – who certainly never got the memo that children were a burden.
As an ex-feminist I knew where this all started, but still I wondered: how could the church have so mindlessly absorbed ideas from the popular culture rather than looking to God, whose truth never changes? In 1997 in an article titled “A Call to Arms,” I wrote:
Still, I wonder what the church would look like today if we were influenced less by the culture which sees children as invaders – who will rob us of our freedom, status, beauty, wealth, and sanity – and influenced more by Scripture, which steadfastly affirms children as God’s reward, as in Psalm 127
1 comment:
Unfortunately, I have also found this attitude to be prevalant and even so in church circles. When my 3rd daughter was born, my oldest was 3.5 and no. 2 was 19 months, I could not believe the comments I receieved every time i left the house. Even more so everyone, including people from church, expressed their dismay for us that we had 3 girls and no boy ...
Quite a shocking attitude, I know that each of my children is a perfect gift from god, given with perfect timing and their gender, health and temperaments are all given with God's will and in his plan for me. I know that with the gift of these children, the Lord will also give me the grace, strength and help I need to parent them in the way he needs me too.
We need to be far more counter-culture and more thankful for each blessing we receive.
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