"To put it simply, school readiness means creating in this country
a public love of children."
Ernest L. Boyer
WHEN LOVE IS DISPLACED
children arE a burden
If you experienced family trauma from parental abuse, divorce, or absence, you may view such responsibility as more than you want to handle. Such experiences may negatively impact your feelings toward marriage and welcoming the birth of children. Some young couples, whether married or living together, refuse the label of "childless" and proudly sport the label "child free".
We all begin as infants, whether we are wanted or not. Throughout our lives we may find life and its troubles a burden, so those feelings aren't directly tied to motherhood or fatherhood. Abortion has been considered a woman's right, but it is a life and death choice, and the fetus is denied rights before it can speak for itself. The father may or may not be told, or the mother may feel negative about how the baby was conceived, and this can be a source of heartache for both. The consequences of the choice to abort can follow one throughout their life and interfere with other choices. Counseling and support in these situations can help both with such feelings. Multiple abortions are generally unhealthy, and lead to coping failures and depression.
WHEN LOVE IS THERE
children ARE an opportunity
Unplanned pregnancies can bring a mix of positive and negative emotions. Will raising a child be as difficult as a couple might first imagine? Perhaps adoption should be considered before either person demands an abortion. Unexpected joys, personal growth, and resilience may surprise a couple who admit their struggle and reach out for support. This is much more than a choice for a moment in time or a displacement of one's life goals. We are much more complicated beings than that and need to give ourselves time and some patience to think things through. We have a spiritual side that may come to life with such a challenge. We also have a weaker side that will remember sometimes with regret or thoughts of what might have been. This can be an opportunity, if not for you, or your significant other, maybe someone else.
wHEN LOVE IS GODLY
children ARE a blessing
If you grew up in a family with love and parents who helped you experience that love, then you may look forward to having children of your own. Godly couples, parents, and grandparents, are more frequently challenging cultural views about children, especially those taught in our schools and enforced in our courts. Children are not just the product of evolution or unprotected sex. Easy divorce, failure to pay child support, and violence have led the government to intervene in families, resetting boundaries, some of which compromise parental rights.
Despite this involvement, people of faith continue to believe "that children are a gift, and an heritage from the Lord" (Psalm 127:3). These parents look forward to raising children and see them as good seed, a planting of the Lord, that will bring forth a harvest of righteousness. Although our homes are special to us, and support our efforts to care for ourselves and our children; it is a foundation of faith that helps us weather the storms of life. We pray for a faith that supports a public love for children and that would help us become a nation of people who love God and one another.
"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children.
One of these is roots, the other, wings."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe