Recently I heard a minister describe children this way. And I agree with him. What is convenient about children?
Pregnancy is inconvenient. Not that I have ever personally experienced it, but I hear things. Nausea. Throwing up. Weight gain. Kicking against the bladder. Toxemia. Leaking. More weight gain. Overheating. Not able to get comfortable. Restless nights.
Giving birth is inconvenient. Water breaking. Braxton hicks. One word: labor. Passing a 6-8 pound human being through a small opening. Pain. Blood. Afterbirth. Tearing. Stitches.
Raising a child is inconvenient. Changing diapers. Poop and pee on your hands. On clothes. Everywhere. Feedings in the middle of the night. The crying. And the baby crying as well. Breast feeding. “Accidents” right after being placed in a clean outfit. Spitting up. Projectile vomiting. Stranger danger. Grade school. Concerns over making friends. Self image. Junior High. Homework. Making the team and the time that requires. Not making the team and the tears that evokes. High school. Boys in her life. Girls in his life. A bedroom that looks like the aftermath of Katrina. Chores not being done. Dogs not being walked. Lawns not being mowed. Applying to college. Worry about getting into the school of their choice. Leaving for college. College tuition. Not spending every holiday and summer at home. Graduating. Moving away. Getting married. Growing up. Breaking your heart.
Having children is inconvenient. It involves pain and hard work. It requires placing another person’s interest over yours. It means sacrifice. It is a set up for sadness and a broken heart, because it ultimately means loss one day. And yet, from the moment that child is conceived, God begins to do something in a parent’s heart. Love is born. And love grows into something beautiful, something awesome, something amazing! Yes, raising a child involves work and cost and inconvenience. Yet all that pales in comparison of the inexpressible joy of having children.
Yes, children are inconvenient. But they are a glorious inconvenience!
