A powerful excerpt from what may become my default wedding gift for my friends and family getting married, Steve and Candice Watter’s, “Start Your Family: Inspiration for Having Babies“:
“‘Choose life” – it’s the pro-life movement’s rallying cry adopted from Deuteronomy 30:19. But that Scripture isn’t just for those in a crisis pregnancy. We also see an application for couples considering the possibility of children. This passage comes near the end of Moses’ discourse preparing God’s chosen people to enter the Promised Land. “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses,” he says. One of the blessings Moses had set before them was that the “fruit of [their] womb” would be blessed (Deuteronomy 28:4). “Now choose life,” he continues, “so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).
We understand the specific context of this passage for the distinct work God was doing in the Hebrew people, but His offer of children as a blessing remains, especially for those who fear Him, who “listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.”
And so for the couple that is looking at both sides of the street and trying to determine if children are a blessing or a curse, we say, “Choose the blessings that come with new life.” – pg 52 (emphasis mine)
1 Comment
July 17, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Let me tell anyone who’s wondering … money can be tight, but it’s manageable. I can’t imagine life without my four kids, though. I’m not sure I want to stop at four. We’ll see what God has in mind.
I just had this conversation with a man whose wife is expecting their ninth. Admittedly, he did say that he hopes it’s only one, not twins (they already have a set of twins). He and his wife were talking about stopping at eight, but then decided that they couldn’t imagine life without any of their eight, and so they should just continue to trust God.
Kids are a blessing, not a burden. I wish everyone could have the joy that I get, and I pray for more!