An anonymous post on Babble.com reflected a couple’s reaction that recently discovered that they are expecting twin boys: “We are pissed and pregnant with twins.” Apparently this “pushing forty” year old couple had struggled to get pregnant for several years. Eventually they tried in vitro fertilization (which often results in multiple births). Several eggs were fertilized outside the body and then were implanted in the mother’s womb.

The process worked. Mom is now expecting twins. And they are not happy. “To say we’re excited would be an exaggeration, the dad wrote. More truthfully, we’re pissed, and terrified, and angry and guilty and regretful.” He went on to say, “In my mind I had done nothing less than ruin our family.”

As you might imagine, there was an uproar of angry responses on the social media. This couple was called selfish, bitter and told in no uncertain terms to buck up.

But as I read this article on CNN, I immediately thought of the verse in Psalm 127: “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him.” Children are a reward. A gift. A blessing bestowed on a couple by a loving heavenly Father.

Perhaps they were concerned about finances or their ability to care for two children. But beyond the obvious self-centeredness expressed by this couple, there is a deeper concern. They, like so many others in our society, have missed the point regarding the gift of life. We don’t have children in a vacuum. The Lord is involved.
Further on in Psalms (139), the writer spells out very clearly the role God has in the reproductive cycle:

“For you (God) created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know that full well…all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Maybe this week is a wonderful time to thank the Lord for the gift of children. If you still have them running around your home (noisy, messy and demanding as they are), stop and praise our loving heavenly Father for His gift. If yours are grown and gone, give them a call and remind them how special they are to you. If you are a grandparent, contact those kids and give them some lovin’.

And if you are a couple waiting for God to bless your home with a child, maybe you could pray for this couple that is struggling with the thought of twins. They need to embrace the gospel and the concept of a God who cares.

By His Grace and for His Glory,
Sherry L. Worel