In an effort to emphasize the season of Thanksgiving, I have been celebrating it all through the month of November. Earlier I explained my 21 Days of Giving Thanks challenge (which you can read about here). Here on Thanksgiving day, for my last post, I’d like to give thanks for the gift of children.

Day 21 – Give Thanks for the Next Generation

One of the most influential passages of Scripture in my life has been Psalm 127. In it Solomon imparts some much-needed wisdom.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:3-5

In a society where adulthood is increasingly delayed, I have met many people who have been given the advice and repeat it back to me, “Enjoy your time together as a couple first for a while, then have children.” I understand the sentiment, but I think God paints a different picture. He clearly presents having children as a blessing. It is not a painful responsibility to delay, but a wonderful blessing to embrace. Don’t get me wrong- I’m not saying you need to pack out a fifteen-passenger van (modern-day quiver?). Regardless of your views of when to have children and how many to have (not going to touch that conversation with a ten-foot pole), I can say with confidence that God consistently presents children as a blessing from the Lord. You can’t avoid that conclusion when reading your Bible.

We can be thankful for God’s gift of the next generation. And I can transparently say on a day like today I desperately need that reminder. Yes, it’s Thanksgiving, but for me it has also been a very normal day of parenting a 1 year-old girl and a 4 year-old girl who need grace as much as I do. Weary moms and dads, what you are doing matters. Embrace the beautiful role God has given you in Deuteronomy 6:6-7:

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
and when you walk by the way,
and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Challenge: Thank God for the gift of children. Consider how you can communicate to the world around you that children are indeed a blessing from the Lord. Happy Thanksgiving!

CP