Not For This Earth

The whole country is feeling totally overwhelmed and crushed by the many tragic events of last week. It's times like these that reinforce what we already know, that having kids in a world like this is serious stuff. 

Why would we want more people to worry about, more people to subject to such horror? It's easy to understand why, for so many, the mere idea of bringing children into such a violent and inhumane society is unthinkable. I know a number of people who claim to never want kids for this reason. 

This life is a broken, broken road: thank God we have the next one to look forward to. For whatever reason, we are called to be in the world for awhile, and to make our time count. But it helps to remember, in times like these, that that's not all. Acknowledging the smallness of earthly things might be the best argument I know for being open to having children. We have to remember that our kids are so much more than little bodies in a terrifying world. They are eternal souls. And so, in creating them, regardless of the amount of time they spend on an earth rife with sorrow, we can still give them the greatest gift. Life and love unbounded for all eternity.

I have a friend who lost a family member this week in the tragedy in Texas. I don't know much about him, but I know that he died a hero, and that he had a small child at home. What incredible sadness, and what a wonderful legacy. Because of the many people he helped and because he gave a child life, this man will continue to live on in his family and in his town. I see courage exemplified in many ways in a man I never knew.

One thing is for sure. We were not made for this earth. Sometimes it's a beautiful place and sometimes it's a disaster, which brings it all back to my favorite word: perspective. How often I forget and lose perspective, but it all makes so much more sense when we keep an eye on the eternal.