I was scrolling through my facebook feed recently when a friend’s status hit me in the gut. Melanie, a beautiful young wife, from my church (pictured above) wrote:

Aside from my close friends and family… How is it that 9 out of 10 people who talk to me about my pregnancy have negative things to say?? The comments are endless and quite creative in their effort to convince me that I should not be as thrilled as I am. It is usually prefaced by “JUST WAIT……(insert: miserable experience/undesirable life change)” Although they have me well prepared for “impending doom,” for now I will continue to be convinced that this is the most beautiful experience of my life thus far! And now I will bask in all the flip-flopping glory that is happening inside my tummy right now. You can kick this mama all night long sweet little one:)

Enter my GASP! How is it that this young wife, who is pregnant for the first time, is encountering such negativity about her pregnancy?

And then I remembered back to my early 20’s and the prevailing culture that said – get your college degree before you have babies, travel a little before you have babies, your body is going to completely change after you have babies, have fun and live it up before you have babies, get yourself financially secure before you have babies. Be a responsible adult and wait wait wait to have those children…

And we did.

I was 27 when we had our first child and 29 when we had our second. By my 30’s, I was experiencing medical trouble that put a stop on babies and I won’t go into it all here but I will say –I bought Opposite World’s mantra and I totally regret it. I wish I had started having babies much sooner.

My husband and I met in highschool and married straight out of college –we could have had children sooner. But we had other goals and my biological clock seemed like it’d tick forever. If I had known 29 was the cut off date for my body to handle babies safely…we would have started sooner.

But Opposite World. It balks at couples marrying young and having babies young. It says, “women had babies young in the old days – be a modern woman – go to college, have a career.”

Opposite World says if you do have children, 1 or 2 is a nice number…and a family with 3 or 4 children is considered a large family. And goodness, if you are pregnant with your fifth, you can expect the snide remarks like “you know what causes that, right?” or “Is this an oops?” I mean why on earth would women want to have lots of babies?

But OH – this is not how God sees children.

Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from Him. ~ Psalm 127:3

A reward? Then why are 9 out of 10 telling my friend of the impending doom she’s about face.

Cause we live in Opposite World.

Rachael Janokovic wrote a profound post over at Desiring God Ministries about motherhood – here’s an excerpt:

Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for. Christian mothers carry their children in hostile territory. When you are in public with them, you are standing with, and defending, the objects of cultural dislike. You are publicly testifying that you value what God values, and that you refuse to value what the world values. You stand with the defenseless and in front of the needy. You represent everything that our culture hates, because you represent laying down your life for another—and laying down your life for another represents the gospel.

And it’s true. We live in a selfish culture where having children is a huge inconvenience. I mean – how am I supposed to fit in aerobics, spa days, girls shopping trips and “me time” when I have children that need me 24/7. And we look at these women in movies, magazines and on television – they are unbelievably gorgeous at 43 and birthing their first. They look like they have it all. They gave their “best years” — their young years, to their career…and we secretly wonder – maybe they do have it all.

Well – Women Can Have It All {In Opposite World} is a blog post for another day.

But for now, let me conclude with these thoughts.

Children are a blessing from God. They are gifts. I know on hard days these gifts feel like gag gifts. lol! But when we thank God for our blessings and we love, nurture, train and bond with our blessings – our lives are fuller.

Defy Opposite World.

If you are a pregnant woman, boldly declare your excitement for your baby bump! When you are in the midst of bottles and binkies and spit up and tantrums and sleepless nights – do not let the enemy whisper in your ear – “this is too much.” Lean on Jesus and thank God for giving you SO much! When the world says, you are too young. Remember Mary was young. When the world says, you are too old. Remember Sarah was old. When the world says, you don’t know what you are doing. Remember Eve – who had no role models at all…she just walked with the King.

We must shut out the voices of Opposite World and listen to the maker of this world.

He says –be fruitful and multiply.

He says — children are a reward.

I believe him.

Now go love on your little ones and do something completely counter cultural (but just like Jesus) –lay down your life for another.

Walk with the King,



**Chime In: Have you experienced negative remarks towards your pregnancies? How did you respond? How do you show your children that you believe God –you believe they are blessings?