Children Are a Gift

Children Are a Gift

By Christa Blanchard

"Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,

The fruit of the womb is a reward." Psalm 127:3

As young ladies in our father's homes, we are taught that children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord. He alone determines the size of our families. It is certainly a blessing to have a peaceful heart knowing that God is in control of our lives. In the following verses we see that the Hebrews regarded children as a blessing from the Lord (see Gen. 13:16; Ruth 4:13-16; 1 Sam. 1:11). They are a reward and heritage, bringing joy to their parents. Rearing a child is a sacred responsibility, and parents must depend on the Lord to help them guide their children.

We see them as a blessing, but do we see them as a gift? Do you enter marriage expecting to have children right away? Or do you plan on waiting a few years or months and then "try"? Are our children born in our timing or God's timing?

The beginning of this verse tells us that "children are a gift from the Lord". If children are truly a gift from the Lord, should we expect to get pregnant in our timing? Should we expect to be pregnant at all? Do you expect a gift from family and friends when your birthday rolls around? Or are you surprised and grateful by the gift they blessed you with?

As women, God puts the longing in our hearts to bear children--to raise children up to the glory of God and to fulfill the mission that God has given to mankind, to be fruitful and multiply. Even though as women we are called to bear children, we still should not expect to be pregnant or even to obtain the number of children we desire.

I am the daughter to two wonderful parents, James and Stacy McDonald, who have ten children and raised me up to love and cherish little ones. I had dreams of having a large family. As a mother of one child, a three-year-old boy, I have struggled for the past two years trying to get pregnant with a second child. I know my husband and I had a hard time getting pregnant with our first, but it did not take this long. We have been to a doctor to see "why" it has taken us so long to conceive another child, and after many doctor visits, the doctor finally told us that we might not get pregnant again.

My husband and I want more children, especially since both of us come from large families, and we know that God opens and closes the womb. We are happy and thankful for the son God has given us, but we did not dream that we would be the parents of only one child.

After struggling for months with being discontent, I found myself missing out on life with my husband and three-year-old because of my obsession with "getting pregnant." Eventually, the Lord brought me to a resting place in Him.

It was this verse that gave me peace: "Children are a gift from the Lord." Children are God's gift, and He either withholds them or grants them to us for His own purpose and glory. Bearing children, as with any gift, is not a blessing to expect or demand. My God is in control!

Life Full of God's Riches...

Where has the last five months gone? So much has happened with our family in the last five months. But, with every change, God has lead our family through every happy moment and every trial.

February,

Thankful we celebrated Joshua's 3rd birthday early. We were blessed with my Grandparents coming in to town and blessed to have such wonderful friends to celebrate with us the birth of our son, who was born three years ago.

This years theme was "Toy Story".

Grandma Blanchard, Aunt Kelly, and Aunt Faith also have birthdays in February, so we went to "Medieval Times" to celebrate all the birthdays.

Daniel bought his first truck at the beginning of the month...which he also sold at the end of the month.

Daniel and I were able to have a get-away weekend for just the two of us. We had a wonderful time at Shiloh Morning Inn in Oklahoma, our first Bed and Breakfast.

March,

March brought a lot of confusion, frustration, and tired nights. Daniel's company told us the first of the month that we were moving to California. The company sent Daniel out to California the first week. Which left Joshua and myself to pack up our house, and have everything done by the 9th of March, so we could start our journey to California on the 10th.

Joshua's last night in our home before we left for California

All our belongings went to storage and we only brought our clothes and a couple of toys for Joshua that would fit into our Prius.

Some of the beautiful scenery that we saw on the way to California.

We live petty close to the beach, and have come to enjoy it during the day, or we like to take a stroll in the evening.

Our new Family Photo...

We also live pretty close to this place too...

April,

April brought on a busy month as we learned to adjust to California life. Finding where everything was, was a little bit as a challenge, as I waited for Daniel to get home from work so I could find my way around, because I did not like the way some of the people drive here. It took me about a week to get the nerve to drive. :) Not only were we learning to live a different way of life, we traveled up to my parents place to watch and rejoice with my brother, James, as he went from being a single man to a married man. A couple days before James' wedding, my sister, Tiffany, gave birth to her first child. She had a beautiful girl. Joshua has take quite a liking to her! :)

Dad, getting ready for the wedding

William and Joshua were ring bearers in James and Jill's wedding. This was their second wedding in a year to be ring bearers, and to do it together. I think they did a better job the second time...

Tiffany and Ben's baby girl, Lilyana Shapirta Hector

This post is becoming a long post, so I think it best to stop here. The month of May was a busy and fun month for us. It is full of pictures that would not fit into this post. So, come back soon to see our month of May!!