babies and why they matter...
We found out your little secret, Baby Cakes! Your dad and I went to the 20 week appointment earlier this week full of excitement and a little anxiety. There's great blessing in living in the days of the sonogram. The up side is getting to check in on your growing baby, the down side is that sometimes the sonograms can cause unnecessary worry. When I was pregnant with your sister I had a bad sonogram reading that caused concern. My doctor ordered another one a few weeks later and she was perfectly fine. You are, too! And from what the technician said, you were also very cooperative. You're currently in a breach position. You stayed curled up in a little ball for most of the sonogram and finally stretched out towards the end. I think you were getting a little annoyed by all of the poking and prodding!
We had a "reveal party" for your sister, but we weren't able to plan one for you. Now, before you feel slighted, let me explain. We found out your sister was a girl in the month of June when nothing was going on and everyone had ample amount of time on their hands. Your secret was discovered between Thanksgiving and Christmas when schedules are full and it's near impossible to find a time for everyone to gather. We could have waited until Christmas but your dad and I aren't that patient. I had a feeling you were going to be a girl. And you know what, that's actually what we were hoping for! Every time we asked Annabeth if she wanted a baby brother or sister she replied, "baby sister!" Every time! And your sweet dad even said he was hoping for another precious little girl. I don't have a sister and think the sister bond is a special one, so I was hoping we'd have a sister for Annabeth. So, you are exactly what our hearts desired! There's this idea in America that every family needs one boy and one girl to be complete. Well, we aren't planning on stopping with you and I'd be tickled to have a whole gaggle of girls, but I'll be happy to take whatever God gives us. I don't know what God has planned for our family, but I want you to know that we are glad you are you!
I have always desired to be a mother. Even your sister, at the early age of 2, has turned into a little mother. She's so excited about having a baby in the family. She will adore you and probably smother you. You won't be short on love around here. I've always wanted to have a big family. This may surprise people to hear, but I love the thought of a house full of children. We live in a time and place where big families are "weird." And people are shocked when anyone wants to have more than three children. Because our society doesn't value life. They value jobs, big houses, nice cars, and even cute animals. But life is a different story. Children aren't seen as a blessing and reward. They are viewed as a burden, an inconvenience, and a choice. And so truth be told, I've looked at large families before and said, "I could never do that!" What I really meant was, "I never want to do that!" But the older I get and the more I think about life, and not just the struggles of the here and now that come with small children, I find myself looking forward to what comes with a big family. I don't care how many kids you have, parenting isn't easy. But if there's one thing that the Lord has been teaching me over the past few months, parenting is an extremely important privilege.
Your dad and I have been teaching through the book of Genesis this year and the topic of childbirth and family has come up often. I've always believed God desires life to be lived. I've never questioned whether or not a baby should be born. I believe God has a plan for each person and that it's not our job to interfere with that plan. God is the one who gives life and withdraws it when He sees fit. He can do that since He's the creator. Sometimes we might think God isn't on the side of life, especially when we pray for it to be extended and it's not, but He looks through an eternal lens and we only see in part what he knows in whole. And so that was really my answer to whether or not children should exist and be born. I think it's a good answer and a thorough answer but God has taken me deeper into understanding why babies are so important, and you're included in this, sweet child!
God created Adam and Eve. Adam came from the dust and Eve from Adam. And they lived in Eden, which was this magnificent, perfect place. They had every thing they needed and it was good. But fast forward and we find out that they willfully made a choice to disobey God. There's always consequences and punishment for disobedience. There has to be or we'd never learn and we'd destroy ourselves and those around us. And so God, in his righteous justice, meets up with Adam and Eve and the Serpent (he was the one who tempted them into disobedience) and he says to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman; between her offspring and yours; he will crush your head." Now this sounds like an odd punishment because she doesn't have offspring at this point. It's just two of them and so what does that even look like? Well, then God turns to Eve and says, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children." So before we get annoyed with Eve and say, "thanks a lot, sister," we have to see the graceful side of this. There will be temporary pain, but there's a promise to fulfill that pain. That promise is a baby!
And so Adam and Eve have two boys who have this serious case of sibling rivalry and one of them, Cain, kills the other, Abel. And although we don't know a lot about Abel, we know he was a Godly man who feared the Lord and lived his life to please God. That's not the case for Cain. And all of the sudden things look pretty dim as it appears the promise God made (that the offspring of the woman would crush the head of the enemy) has died with Abel. But God's plans haven't been foiled because we quickly learn that God allows Eve to become pregnant again and give birth to a baby boy, Seth. A son who would continue the faith of the family, serving the God of his father, Adam.
In his Old Testament commentary, Warren Weirsby noted that (and I'm paraphrasing) each time it appeared darkness and destruction were about to overtake God's people and the enemy was going to win, there was a birth of a baby. A child who would deliver! And we see the promise fulfilled throughout the entire Bible until the gracious, divine birth of Jesus Christ - the one who has crushed the enemy! That's where it starts. Where all human life begins. With birth. And we sure don't know what God has written out for our days, but He has written each one before it comes to pass. Psalm 127:3-5 says, "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."
You see, Baby Cakes, you are continuing the Lord's heritage. You are His child. You exist for his glory and benefit, not mine. You are a bearer of his image and name. An arrow of light he is shooting into the days ahead to fight back the darkness. You are his masterpiece, his handiwork, and an important part of his strategy to fight the enemy until Jesus returns and all is made perfect again, just like it was in the beginning. And so I want you to know that your life is of extreme importance and value. Every life is of extreme importance and value. Not for what we can accomplish here on earth but because we are made by God, in the image of God, for the purposes of God. And at the end of our life, we'll stand before God and it will all make sense. There will be a lot of question and worries and confusion on this side, but our call is to press on. To keep serving and trusting God with the life He has given us because each life He creates is one that's filled with great purpose!
We had a "reveal party" for your sister, but we weren't able to plan one for you. Now, before you feel slighted, let me explain. We found out your sister was a girl in the month of June when nothing was going on and everyone had ample amount of time on their hands. Your secret was discovered between Thanksgiving and Christmas when schedules are full and it's near impossible to find a time for everyone to gather. We could have waited until Christmas but your dad and I aren't that patient. I had a feeling you were going to be a girl. And you know what, that's actually what we were hoping for! Every time we asked Annabeth if she wanted a baby brother or sister she replied, "baby sister!" Every time! And your sweet dad even said he was hoping for another precious little girl. I don't have a sister and think the sister bond is a special one, so I was hoping we'd have a sister for Annabeth. So, you are exactly what our hearts desired! There's this idea in America that every family needs one boy and one girl to be complete. Well, we aren't planning on stopping with you and I'd be tickled to have a whole gaggle of girls, but I'll be happy to take whatever God gives us. I don't know what God has planned for our family, but I want you to know that we are glad you are you!
I have always desired to be a mother. Even your sister, at the early age of 2, has turned into a little mother. She's so excited about having a baby in the family. She will adore you and probably smother you. You won't be short on love around here. I've always wanted to have a big family. This may surprise people to hear, but I love the thought of a house full of children. We live in a time and place where big families are "weird." And people are shocked when anyone wants to have more than three children. Because our society doesn't value life. They value jobs, big houses, nice cars, and even cute animals. But life is a different story. Children aren't seen as a blessing and reward. They are viewed as a burden, an inconvenience, and a choice. And so truth be told, I've looked at large families before and said, "I could never do that!" What I really meant was, "I never want to do that!" But the older I get and the more I think about life, and not just the struggles of the here and now that come with small children, I find myself looking forward to what comes with a big family. I don't care how many kids you have, parenting isn't easy. But if there's one thing that the Lord has been teaching me over the past few months, parenting is an extremely important privilege.
Your dad and I have been teaching through the book of Genesis this year and the topic of childbirth and family has come up often. I've always believed God desires life to be lived. I've never questioned whether or not a baby should be born. I believe God has a plan for each person and that it's not our job to interfere with that plan. God is the one who gives life and withdraws it when He sees fit. He can do that since He's the creator. Sometimes we might think God isn't on the side of life, especially when we pray for it to be extended and it's not, but He looks through an eternal lens and we only see in part what he knows in whole. And so that was really my answer to whether or not children should exist and be born. I think it's a good answer and a thorough answer but God has taken me deeper into understanding why babies are so important, and you're included in this, sweet child!
God created Adam and Eve. Adam came from the dust and Eve from Adam. And they lived in Eden, which was this magnificent, perfect place. They had every thing they needed and it was good. But fast forward and we find out that they willfully made a choice to disobey God. There's always consequences and punishment for disobedience. There has to be or we'd never learn and we'd destroy ourselves and those around us. And so God, in his righteous justice, meets up with Adam and Eve and the Serpent (he was the one who tempted them into disobedience) and he says to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman; between her offspring and yours; he will crush your head." Now this sounds like an odd punishment because she doesn't have offspring at this point. It's just two of them and so what does that even look like? Well, then God turns to Eve and says, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children." So before we get annoyed with Eve and say, "thanks a lot, sister," we have to see the graceful side of this. There will be temporary pain, but there's a promise to fulfill that pain. That promise is a baby!
And so Adam and Eve have two boys who have this serious case of sibling rivalry and one of them, Cain, kills the other, Abel. And although we don't know a lot about Abel, we know he was a Godly man who feared the Lord and lived his life to please God. That's not the case for Cain. And all of the sudden things look pretty dim as it appears the promise God made (that the offspring of the woman would crush the head of the enemy) has died with Abel. But God's plans haven't been foiled because we quickly learn that God allows Eve to become pregnant again and give birth to a baby boy, Seth. A son who would continue the faith of the family, serving the God of his father, Adam.
In his Old Testament commentary, Warren Weirsby noted that (and I'm paraphrasing) each time it appeared darkness and destruction were about to overtake God's people and the enemy was going to win, there was a birth of a baby. A child who would deliver! And we see the promise fulfilled throughout the entire Bible until the gracious, divine birth of Jesus Christ - the one who has crushed the enemy! That's where it starts. Where all human life begins. With birth. And we sure don't know what God has written out for our days, but He has written each one before it comes to pass. Psalm 127:3-5 says, "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."
You see, Baby Cakes, you are continuing the Lord's heritage. You are His child. You exist for his glory and benefit, not mine. You are a bearer of his image and name. An arrow of light he is shooting into the days ahead to fight back the darkness. You are his masterpiece, his handiwork, and an important part of his strategy to fight the enemy until Jesus returns and all is made perfect again, just like it was in the beginning. And so I want you to know that your life is of extreme importance and value. Every life is of extreme importance and value. Not for what we can accomplish here on earth but because we are made by God, in the image of God, for the purposes of God. And at the end of our life, we'll stand before God and it will all make sense. There will be a lot of question and worries and confusion on this side, but our call is to press on. To keep serving and trusting God with the life He has given us because each life He creates is one that's filled with great purpose!
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