Not-a-parent perspective
Does the world ever seem so chaotic and sad that it overwhelms you? I feel like that has been how I have felt for the past several years.
I constantly hear about and read about parents that have found inconvenience in their children. While I have absolutely no experience in being a parent - and so my opinion on the matter is found null by those who are - I have a profound sense of frustration towards those that abuse the privilege of having children.
Yesterday, while I was walking my dog he sniffed around on the edge of the woods behind our house. Since I couldn't see what he was searching for, I picked him up to discover a 5 foot long snake staring us in the face. I have had days in the past couple of months where I have needed help simply getting dressed because of some severe back pain and degeneration that I've experienced; yet, I put my dog before myself and quickly whisked him away from potential danger. MY DOG.
The same dog that I have to know where he is within my 1500 square foot house... as if he will get lost; that I wake up it I can't tell if he's breathing (disregarding the warning to let sleeping dogs lie); that I call to check on if someone is watching him while I'm out of town; that I have more photos of than any other thing; that I hold in higher regard than any other possession and some humans I've encountered.
I know that not having children I can't possibly fathom the stress that that responsibility brings with it, but I can assure you that as much as I have agonized over not being able to have children I would do anything within my human existence to protect and nurture a child if I were ever to have one. If I would risk life, limb and loss to protect my dog which I realize is "just an animal," I can only imagine how much more I would love my own child and what extreme lengths I would go to protect them.
So today I have a very difficult time understanding the arguments that people make why it's okay for the mistakes and indiscretions of people whose children die at their hands and in their care. Why people think it's okay for a woman to choose convenience of social schedule over the life of a conceived child. Why to create life costs a small fortune, but to take it is the cost of an expensive grocery trip.
At the end of His life, Jesus even said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing." But how do you respond to people who do very clearly know what they are doing and what the consequences are to the decisions they are making?
I just don't know.
I constantly hear about and read about parents that have found inconvenience in their children. While I have absolutely no experience in being a parent - and so my opinion on the matter is found null by those who are - I have a profound sense of frustration towards those that abuse the privilege of having children.
Yesterday, while I was walking my dog he sniffed around on the edge of the woods behind our house. Since I couldn't see what he was searching for, I picked him up to discover a 5 foot long snake staring us in the face. I have had days in the past couple of months where I have needed help simply getting dressed because of some severe back pain and degeneration that I've experienced; yet, I put my dog before myself and quickly whisked him away from potential danger. MY DOG.
The same dog that I have to know where he is within my 1500 square foot house... as if he will get lost; that I wake up it I can't tell if he's breathing (disregarding the warning to let sleeping dogs lie); that I call to check on if someone is watching him while I'm out of town; that I have more photos of than any other thing; that I hold in higher regard than any other possession and some humans I've encountered.
I know that not having children I can't possibly fathom the stress that that responsibility brings with it, but I can assure you that as much as I have agonized over not being able to have children I would do anything within my human existence to protect and nurture a child if I were ever to have one. If I would risk life, limb and loss to protect my dog which I realize is "just an animal," I can only imagine how much more I would love my own child and what extreme lengths I would go to protect them.
So today I have a very difficult time understanding the arguments that people make why it's okay for the mistakes and indiscretions of people whose children die at their hands and in their care. Why people think it's okay for a woman to choose convenience of social schedule over the life of a conceived child. Why to create life costs a small fortune, but to take it is the cost of an expensive grocery trip.
At the end of His life, Jesus even said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing." But how do you respond to people who do very clearly know what they are doing and what the consequences are to the decisions they are making?
I just don't know.
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