What We Love #Thisis38

My Devotion this morning finished with this questions.  What is it that God made you to love??

The answer to that is children.  Mine, of course.  Then my niece’s, nephew’s and friend’s children.  I have had multiple jobs where children were the center of my work.  Working at 2 child care centers, being the children’s ministry coordinator at my church and lastly being a facilitator at a nearby non-profit that focused on children 0-5.

God put me on this earth to love children.  When I was 16 I never had that internal guide telling me that I was too young to be a Mom.  I mean, I knew that I shouldn’t until I was in love, married and ready to settle down, obviously!  Though, from 16 I was ready to be a Mom, ask my best friend.

By my mid 20’s I had been working in the Early Education field for 4+ years and still wanted to be a mother.  Even with being with 2 year old’s, 8 hours a day 5 days a week.  I made a declaration to my parents that if I didn’t find someone to settle down with by the time I was 30, then I would be having children on my own.

You see, I never even knew that I wanted to get married.  That is not something that I dreamed of, or pictured often.  It wasn’t something that I felt like I needed to be happy or to fulfill my destiny in this life.  I did have an idea of what a wedding would like or what a world with marriage could be for me.  I did know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I needed to be a Mom.

At 26, I was married and pregnant with my first son.  Then again on my 28th birthday I found out I was pregnant again, that time with a daughter.  For reasons unnecessary to explain here, I thought that those 2 would be it for me.  Though, I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel…again whatever switch should be turned off in the baby making department wasn’t flipped yet (truth be told, it still isn’t).

As circumstances would have it though, my world changed.  I got divorced and remarried.  My second marriage brought 3 children in my life from the get go. Finally, I had this giant family that I had always dreamed of.  Lastly, 6 weeks after Paul and I got married we found out that we were pregnant with our youngest son.

I have 6 children of my own that I get to love day in and day out.  Countless other kids who have a very special place in my heart daily.  Not to mention all the children who have come and gone through my life over the last 20 or so years.  I love children!!  I love watching them grow, learn and become individuals.

So far, I haven’t stopped wanting kids.  I still tease my husband about having more all the time.  He is done and rightfully so.  Though that doesn’t stop me from asking if we can house a foreign exchange student when I receive an e-mail from our local high school!  Or offering to babysit any and every small child that we know.

Last night my husband said that as he gets older children seem more precious.  I told him that I have always seen it like that.  I don’t know if that means that my brain was on fast forward when it comes to children, or his is on slow motion.  Perhaps, just the difference between men and women?  Maybe, it just because of the love that God put in my heart for children!