Children | Your Greatest Investment

A question that I get ALL the time – are you done having babies? The answer to this question is quite complicated actually. The decision to consciously add more children to your family is one that most women do not take lightly. Adding more little ones to my family would impact everything – finances, schedules, stress levels, my career, and certain comforts of life. Of course the joy they will bring will outweigh everything else, but I tend to be analytical to an extent when making big life decisions.

Over the Christmas holidays I got to spend a week with ALL three of my sisters and their young families.  And even in the chaos of having nine adults and four children in our home for over a week, I caught “baby fever.” I feel so blessed that my sisters have developed into my closest friends over the years. It is so fun doing “life” together – now that we are adults and starting families of our own. There is a part of me that wants to re-create this for my own children.

But when asked that simple question – are you done having babies – I often find myself focusing solely on the logistics of what it would mean for my family to have one more. Being a full-time working mommy, the time I get to spend with my children is limited already. Is it really fair to add another one to the mix? And let’s be honest, when I think of adding another child to our family I can’t help but think of MONEY and what an extra child would mean to my bank account. Forbes reported that a child born in 2012 will cost his parents $241,080 in 2012 dollars, on average, over his lifetime.

And when I finally pull myself out of the day-to-day mechanics of raising children, I can see more of the big picture. Being a parent is a unique opportunity in life to mold and shape young lives into something that is bigger and better than ourselves. Your children and family are part of the legacy that you will leave behind when you are no longer on this earth. Should I really let money and a comfy savings account weigh so heavily on my decision to expand my family? Of course, it is wise to be financially responsible and live within your means – I will be the first to admit that.

Technically I am not the one that controls the number of young lives in my family anyway - these little bundles of joy come from above after all. I just have to trust in His plan, not my own. A wise woman once told me, “Your children are truly your greatest investment in life.” So, while I am still undecided on whether or not to actively try and expand my little family of four that God blessed me with, I will be patient, pray and see where God leads me.

“Every good and perfect gift comes from above.” James 1:17