"I love my own children, but I'm not as fond of other people's children."

Psalm 127 tells us that children are a blessing, a reward, something to be sought after and cherished.  Once the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and heart to this passage of Scripture, I never looked back...at least where my own children were concerned.  You see, the statement above is a direct quote from...(nervous cough)...me.

MY children are great!  MY children are blessings!  But, other people's children?  Well, SOME people's children are blessings.  But, SOME people's children are, well, um...not so, um...well, you know. 

Wait a second!  Am I really saying I think God only uses children as a reward and a blessing for SOME people and that for OTHER people they are a curse, or at best, a natural consequence?

Oh, I probably never truly spelled it out in those terms, but I do know for a fact I have been guilty of thinking there were people out there who "got pregnant on purpose" or people who had babies "they didn't deserve" or people who "should really stop having children."  All this from a woman who calls herself QUIVERFULL?  Apparently, I thought only myself and a select few were truly BLESSED by God...the rest ACCIDENTALLY got His blessings.

We embrace as blessings the children that enter into our own families, but shouldn't we also be embracing as blessings the children who enter into other people's families?  And shouldn't we, especially those of us who call ourselves quiverfull, be looking these children in the eye and telling them what little blessings they are?  Shouldn't we be speaking this aloud to their families?  If we truly believe the Lord is the one who opens and shuts the womb, then shouldn't we rejoice with every new life?

Now, I am sure some of you are saying, "What about those babies born out of wedlock?"  Well, let's take a moment to put this issue in perspective.  What was the sin?  The child being born?  NO!  As Christians, we really need to examine how we deal with these types of situations.  If we ever expect to effectively fight against abortion, we have got to stop seeing the children as part of the sin.

And what about those Christian families who just don't seem to be able to handle the children they have?  If they are letting the Lord build their house, then who am I to say how many children they should or shouldn't have?  I wasn't winning any parenting awards when the Lord gave me more children!

So, my perspective has changed.  Not only are MY children little blessings, but so are OTHER PEOPLE'S children.  And I intend to tell them so!