Too Many Flowers

       This post comes mainly from an email Tim sent me earlier this week. His email was in response to a Time Magazine cover story called "The Childfree Life: When Having it All Means Not Having Children" I have adapted it slightly but the majority are his words of wisdom :)
       Honestly, no one in this world will love you more truly than a child who you show true love. People need to understand the most important investment you can make in this world is something that will be passed down through the generations. You would not be here today if not for thousands of people coming together to raise children. Do not invest all of your time in something that will not love you back, your bank account. What is the ultimate meaning of life; love. And how do we achieve that?  Through our relationship with others, not through what we do, but who we are; our thoughts, our minds, our lives. Life is not about comfort, it is not about living the easy life, it is about what will give our lives true purpose which is the endless fight for the salvation of humanity. I hope one day when I reach heaven, serving the world will not end, and that is part of being a saint. I believe that we work hard in this life not to have an easy life one day down the road, but for all of eternity, I will fight for God and pray for others even in Heaven. I will give true life to the world through my children, and through my children, the world will have many saints.
       You know, I heard an excellent thing on Catholic Answers  It was in defense of having children. Something came up and one of the hosts mentions he has 5 children. The caller responds that he is selfish, because children are a drain on the economy. They eat up tax payer dollars through schooling, they require more resources as we need diapers, more food to feed them, toys, etc. They also costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to raise, not to mention the drain on the parents. And to have 5 is crazy, no way each child is getting the attention he or she needs. But he responded that you cannot put a measure on love and happiness, so she cannot know how much his children are loved, but what he can tell her is his children know love through God. More-so is each of his children has been taught to love the world. She had no children. So he responded, one day you will grow old, you may not be able to care for yourself. You may fall in your home and need to call 911, who will respond. Not the generation today, but the generation he is raising, his children. If you are placed in a nursing home, it will not be your peers that will take care of you, but a nurse, a young one, perhaps one of his children. The food you eat, will be picked by a younger generation still strong enough to do so. You ride a bus, it will be driven by people still young enough to have good eyesight. There will be hundreds of younger people taking care of you even without you knowing. If there aren't enough young people, who will care for you? Who will pay your social security? Children are expensive, but even in monetary terms, the amount they will give back to society is far greater.
       Now this Rachel adding my two cents. Yesterday I was sitting in Adoration before the Vigil Service of the Assumption of Mary. God helped me to realize that his personal plan for my salvation truly is through family life. I tried to imagine myself as a nun and I realized that I may not have been able to learn how to love selflessly and die to myself in a convent. It is kind of rough for me to realize this but I think I really will need the selfless love of my children to purify and sanctify my heart. I really treasure my sleep and I sometimes worry how I will cope with motherhood but I know that God will give me the grace I need to do so. I am so thankful that God has lead me this far to my vocation and I know he will continue to do so. However, it does make me wonder how will God be able to soften the hearts of those called to married life if they are not willing to open their hearts to the love children will bring into their lives?
    
How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers. - Mother Teresa