Treasures

So far I’ve been pretty amazed at the ease of this pregnancy.  Apart from the frequent nausea of the first two weeks, I’ve had very little queasiness.  It makes me suspect that this is a boy, because I’ve heard rumors that they make you less sick. 

 

This of course has brought up the question, “Are we done yet?”  My last pregnancy was so hellish that I never wanted to go through anything like that again.  Amanda was absolutely worth it, but the experience still scared me.  I always wanted more than two children, and the thought of having to stop because I couldn’t handle another rough pregnancy was heartbreaking.  I seriously had to consider how badly I wanted another child, and whether I was willing to pay the price.  I knew the only way I could make it through another pregnancy was if my attitude changed, so I asked God if He wanted to give us more children, to please change my heart towards the idea.  The ease of this pregnancy has been a very pleasant surprise, and has made the idea of trying for a fourth someday far less frightening.  I’m still not sure we ever will, but it’s nice to have the option. 

 

There’s a commercial for a local seaside tourist destination that shows two little girls running up and down the beach, digging with their toy shovels and filling their buckets with sand.  The caption reads: “News Flash: The Sand is the Treasure”.  How true.  Treasures are what we make of them.  It’s based on what we invest our time in and consider most valuable. 

 

With the economy going in the toilet this past year, I’ve been reminded what “treasure” really is.  People who spent their entire lives building up wealth have watched it evaporate before their eyes.  Homes and jobs, businesses and investments – nothing is totally immune.  You can’t take it with you.  When a person’s house is destroyed by a natural disaster, you often hear them say “At least my family is safe.  Everything else is replaceable.”  Loss puts the value of things in perspective. 

 

There’s a lot of talk in our culture about how much it costs to have kids, how you should wait until all your ducks are in a row before having them, and then never have more kids than you can afford to put through college, etc.  We tend to view children as drains on our resources (financially, personally, and otherwise), rather than as benefits and blessings.  We measure them based on how much they take rather than by how much they contribute.  When it comes to measuring “wealth”, I’ve got a news flash: children are the real treasure. Everything else is disposable and expendable, but family is not.  If I had to choose between what our society considers wealth, and children, I’d take children hands down. 

 

This is a real heart change for me, because up until now my attitude towards children has been in the arena of “I love them, but I can’t wait for them to grow up and be more independent so they can wipe their own butts and then I can get more done….”   But seriously, what do I need to get done that’s more important than them?  Whenever I start seeing them as a drain on my energy, goals or ever-important “To Do” list, I’m sure to become frustrated, resentful and discontented.   But when I start viewing them as my most important treasure, my attitude changes, my patience level rises, and the mundane becomes an investment in what’s truly most important.