Children Do Not Exist For Our Ease And Comfort

Sometimes I sit here and watch him sleep and am overwhelmed by the love I feel.  Since the moment I heard his heartbeat I have been in love with him. Yes, I was scared, overwhelmed and unable to understand all that it meant to be a mother.  To be a parent is a daunting task.  To be trusted by God to raise up his child in a manner that pleases him should make us feel overwhelmed.  It is an impossible task without his help!
I read an article today about women desiring to have post birth abortions and was overwhelmed with grief. This is the opposite of what it means to be a parent in every possible way. I cannot imagine loosing him without my stomach hurting. The heart of our God beats for his children. His love for us knows no end and is not based on our actions. A dear friend recently found out early on in her pregnancy that her child had a heart defect. This defect was very serious and life threatening.  Aborting her pregnancy never entered her mind.  This was her child, her beautiful baby boy and a gift from God.  He was born and immediately went into surgery.  He spent 3 months in the hospital afterwards.  They barely slept.  He consumed their thoughts and prayers. They held him. They cared for him.  They cried with him. They felt all of his pain as though it were their own. They cannot imagine a life without him.  They are his parents.

Right before we had Conner we visited them in the hospital. Things were hard and painful but that was not the point.  They were not focused on themselves but their child.  Their needs no longer came first. When making decisions about their family what was easiest no longer factored into the equation.  Children do not exist for our ease and comfort.  They are a gift to be cared for, nurtured, loved, cherished and most of all protected. In them David and I saw the kind of parents we wanted to be and were awed by their love for their child. I believe with all my heart that the love God has for us is sacrificial and that the love for our children and others should be just that. I cannot imagine love existing without sacrifice. (Thank you Wes Terry!)  Christ died because he loved us and continues to love us. I cannot imagine my savior saying that my needs are too great. That he is unwilling to take care of me because I did not turn out to be what he wanted or expected. He died because I was not able to atone for my own sins.  I have never been able to take care of myself, meet my own needs, or be of use to anyone without Christ.  I believe God gives us children for many reasons and one of those reasons is to understand how much he loves us and how desperately we need him. He does not walk away when things are difficult or painful.  He does not say that our needs are too great. He meets our needs. He never leaves us. He hears our prayers. He counts our tears. He is our Dad and we are his children. May we all aspire to be the kind of parent our Heavenly Father is.