How Are Children a Gift from the Lord?
Psalm 127:3 declares, "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him." Recently, this verse has been on my mind. I'm trying to really grasp it and apply it in ways that are stretching and life changing.
We are foster parents and this journey has led us to say 'yes' to loving kids in ways that I never imagined I'd have capacity for. Everything I've ever believed about what makes an ideal family has been challenged by our journey. Maybe you've been faced with a parenting crossroad that has left you also feeling like God was calling you out into very uncertain feeling waters.
Our culture has some very strong ideas about parenthood that oftentimes are conflicting and don't always align with God's Word. We are told kids are precious! There is an obsession with how to parent the right way. We are told we must make sure our kids have every opportunity while also supporting them with all we have. There are countless books helping us parent better, there are a million programs geared at teaching, and developing our kids, and so many products pushed on parents promising that this will help our kids find success. Raising "successful" kids is the mystical goal we are all striving after, but the way to get there is not clear.
On the other hand, we see stay-at-home parenting as a less valuable role in our community. We tell moms or dads that if they give up a career for parenting, they are using less of their skills, their time is wasted, and sometimes we believe that parents don't really know what is best for their kids. Somehow, we are supposed to give our kids everything while also not giving up too much of ourselves. We still need two working parents with full advancing careers paired with endless extracurriculars and community involvement as a family. It's exhausting just thinking about how to make this all happen seamlessly.
If we embrace this cultural narrative, then the thought of raising multiple kids really feels overwhelming. How many of us can see welcoming children into our homes as a blessing when we feel so stretched thin we can barely make it through the day?
Psalm 127:4-5, which says, "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".
If kids are a blessing and having a house full of them is a gift, we are going to have to structure our lives a little differently than the cultural norm. This is not to say we all have to raise bunches of kids to follow the Bible, but maybe that will be exactly what God calls you to do with your life, and it will be the hardest job you'll ever be assigned for God's glory.
How We Can Embrace God's Call to See Children as a Blessing
Having a full house that embraces children requires presence. Parents have to find a way to be available for their kids; that doesn't mean you have to forgo a career, but you are going to have to need flexibility because kids need us. They need our hugs, prayers, and time spent playing games and reading; they need to see us make mistakes and say sorry; they need to have us show them how to help clean up and how to take care of themselves as they grow. It's our job to train our kids in the way of the Lord so things will go well with them (Proverbs 22:6).
Embracing God's gift of family means you will need a community that can support your home. As we've gone from three to six kids, we have found more and more comfort in the love of our community. Our kids' lives are greatly enriched by people who love God and love them alongside us. As our routines have been disrupted by unexpected newborns, toddlers that need a forever family, or NICU babies that require cuddles to get well, our kids have weathered these changes not because my husband and I are so amazing but because our community is. You can do so much more with God and a village than you can alone!
When you see God call you take a step of faith to embrace the mission of family you need the power of prayer. The reality is that God loves our kids so much more than we do. There is no way I could ever meet all their needs perfectly; I can't keep them safe or guarantee their success, but I can advocate that their God goes before them through prayer. When I fail his love covers our home because He is our good Father. He is good to me and good to my kids! In our home our children all have different stories and very different skills. They each need unique things for them to thrive. It's God who opens and closes those doors ahead of us. He writes good stories for us, even when brokenness and trauma is a part of our kids lives, he is still good.
Honestly the last thing I've been challenged to do is to reject what the culture has taught me about parenthood and lean hard into God's word. My oldest son noted that he does not want to go out in public with me now that we have 6 kids because we draw too much attention and he isn't wrong. We are a curiosity.
It's easy to feel self-conscious about the gift of family God has given us because we don't follow conventional advice about what makes a reasonable family unit. People often comment on how full my hands are, and I fully agree with them. We have more going on in one home than I could have ever imagined for myself.
Sometimes, it's overwhelming, and I doubt God's plan and feel completely incapable as a Mom. But God! He reminds me so kindly of the many miracles that have led us to this point. How he gently leads those who have young (Isaiah 40:11) because he knows how much we need him! He shows me joy that my kids have together as siblings. He reminds me of the ways he has healed the brokenness that some of my kids have experienced. How he has grown my older kids into compassionate brothers and sisters. His grace abounds in this messy call towards embracing a big wild family.
The biggest lesson I've learned as a Mom is that God's abundance thrives when we present him our needs. When we make our little available to him, he does more than we could ever ask, think, or imagine. My ordinary yes to motherhood through biology, adoption, and foster care has been the place that God has shown me his glory. His heart for my kids astounds me. I can trust him on this faith-filled journey forward that lives and believes that a full house is a blessed house.
Originally published January 09, 2025.
