I lay awake in bed one morning, savoring the quiet. I dared not open my eyes. It would be a sign to my 3-year-old rescue cat Daisy resting on my feet that she could harass me with nudges for her favorite breakfast treat.
I often give a silent thank you to God for this joy of caring for a being so little and in need of support, a constant sentinel on the paperwork spread across my bed when I’m working at my computer.
Married 37 years, my husband, Andre, and I have no children. I warned him before we married that medical reasons prevented me from having children. Without hesitation, he said it didn’t matter to him.
Perhaps on some level it didn’t matter much to me either. I grew up hearing the word “pregnant” in mostly negative contexts: “Don’t get pregnant!” “You’ll have to take the father to court for support!” “Your folks will skin you alive!”
The beauty of pregnancy during marriage was overshadowed.
As a child, I just assumed babies were born when a woman’s navel unraveled and the child popped out.
And as a young girl, a boy nicknamed Squirrel grabbed my hand for a slow dance during a party. He held me so tight that I was almost faint with anxiety, afraid I had become pregnant!
By junior high, I finally got it right.
In retrospect, I see more clearly the harm that people do when they speak carelessly around children – or perhaps don’t speak at all to a curious child – about how having children impacts lives.
Sure, there were adult friends who said they wished they never had children. It was their story to tell, so I listened.
Still, I saw their pride in their children’s accomplishments and their gratitude when those children cared for them. I finally came to believe that when God permits conception, he guides the destiny of that child.
Something killed our Daisy in the woods next to our home one snowy night in December. She had slipped out our front door unnoticed. We were inconsolable. A few weeks later, we came across a 2-month-old kitten needing a home and took him in, naming him Baby.
What does all of this mean?
Andre and I are childless, but not without children to care for. We drew comfort from pets that we outlived and are now at a stage in our lives when our current pet could possibly outlive us.
The bigger picture is a call to focus not only on what ends in this life, but on what can experience eternal life.
Nurturing pets is rewarding. They can give us unconditional love. But it is children who have the higher calling to become future evangelizers as they grow in the knowledge of Christ and of who they are in him.
Children are not born knowing they are adopted sons and daughters of God. They must be taught about their need for the Lord Jesus Christ and how to use the word of God in Scripture when facing temptation.
The Lenten season reminded us all that Jesus knew who he was and is and will always be. When tempted by Satan in the wilderness, his weapon of choice was Scripture. Repeatedly he rebuffed his tempter by stating, “It is written, …” forcing Satan to retreat.
Of course, enjoy our pets. But lose no opportunity to invest quality time with children at every stage of their lives. Remind them of how precious they are. Teach them as they grow how to recognize opportunities to spread the good news of salvation that our resurrected Lord makes attainable for generations to come.
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