our reward

We live in a culture that believes, at its core, that children are a burden rather than a blessing. Don’t believe me? Consider how quick people are to suggest postponing parenthood—wait until you are more financially stable, give yourselves some time to just enjoy being married, pursue your career for a while first, and so forth. While all these pursuits are valuable and valid, my point is that they betray a belief that children keep us from enjoying life to the fullest. They suck up our financial resources, place strain on our romance, and distract from our professional success.

At least, that’s what the world thinks. And for a long time, though I may not have put it in exactly those terms, I believed it too. If I was honest, I wasn’t really sure I wanted to have kids. And if I was really, really honest, it was because of how much it would cost me. (Fortunately, God changed my heart!)

God thinks differently than we do. Look what He says about children: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward” (Psalm 127:3). This doesn’t apply only to children born in ideal circumstances, but to all children. He names all children, reward! That is strong language!

I believe being a parent is the hardest job. Ever. In the middle of the stress, it’s easy to forget that I’m handling precious material—my rewards. It’s easy to be frustrated, to lose my cool, to obsess over household activities, to complain about my daughter’s attitude or my son’s aggression—really, to forget the incredible value intrinsic in each of these little people running around my home.

It’s like I’ve won the lottery. And my prize is three (so far!) unique, made-in-the-image-of-God children. God is trusting me with His rewards, trusting me to shape them gently, to love them into greatness in Him. What an incredible prize; what an unbelievable honor!