Thanks to Aubri for linking to this essay from the famous but not yet well known Dort Preus, mother of 12 and inspiration to us all (to all the people who probably already sent me this a million years ago--sorry, I was busy for the last million years). I particularly appreciated this:
I remember visiting with a vicar on our side porch in Racine . He was about 40 years old and single. He was asking me, with admiration in his eyes about different experiences as a mother of, I think at the time, 11 children. He had asked if I had to do it over again would I? I told him if I weren't a Christian I would not want to have any children. The vicar was shocked. "But why?" he asked. I answered with " Children cost money, give you grief, and break your heart, are ungrateful no matter how you try to care for them.” And I went on and on. Poor guy stared at me. The admiration in his eyes faded away. I was in a low mood and discouraged. I had about 3 or 5 teenage boys at the time. I went on to tell him, as a Christian I took great comfort that as I teach my children the forgiveness of sins that they will forgive me all my failings as a mother. I could have confidence in raising the children God blessed us with by teaching them the Gospel. It is a hard job to raise children and I don’t really think I'm very good at it.
Ha ha ha, Dort! We all know you've got it figured out and we're the poser screwups. Thanks for trying to make us feel better, though. ;)
(In addition to not understanding why non-Christians have kids, I've never known why non-Christians bother getting married.)
4 comments:
"In addition to not understanding why non-Christians have kids, I've never known why non-Christians bother getting married."
I've often wondered this myself.
Excellent post! As a mother of teenagers and early 20's it renewed my heart. I was never one to really fret when my children were under, say age 15 - and I'm glad I didn't spend one minute fretting over the trivialities of life in those days (that early fretting might have zapped the strength I needed having survived 15 years of teenage mothering so far). Raising teens, even those who have been brought up in a pastor's home, attend parochial school, and live in a home where God's grace is our shield and armor - is not an easy task because at some point they will, and must, venture into the world on a solo cruise. My job, as their parent, was to start preparing them for this independence from the moment of their first breath.
So, by age 14-16, my work is in large part done. I will remain a sounding board, an occasional law-filled curb, and the woman who makes their home, but the real work of living in this kingdom must be done on their own. This requires one of the single most difficult jobs of motherhood - standing back (and praying, and praying, and praying).
On a side note - I think most non-Christians marry because they do not want to miss out on the big white dress day (which somehow is supposed to provide a magical bridge differentiating their live-in days from their marital days) and if they are smart - they are marrying to get their teeth into their dear spouse's Social Security and 401K benefits.
I hear that being earnest is important. HA HA HA HA! Wait, what are we talking about?
"about 3 or 5 teenage boys. . ." That means 6, I'll bet.
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