Recently, I read this wonderful article about a woman who, at the age of 53 decided to have another baby. Already the mother of three children ages 15 to 30, award-winning journalist Karen Day along with her husband Fred, decided to roll the dice one more time and, with the help of invitro fertilization, had a healthy baby boy. She reflects on her decision by writing the following:

“A baby is a reminder as strong as headlines from Baghdad or New Orleans that the world is an eternity of sharp edges. To love a child or anything this much is both courageous and ridiculous. Dread steals your breath away, then hope swells you drunk with gratitude. Every day is a bungee jump. The intensity either kills you or saves your life on a daily basis. But on we go, having and loving our kids like there is no nuclear tomorrow. And what choice do we have?

‘Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?’ asks the poet Mary Oliver. How better to affirm your existence? Be like the baby and the Dalai Lama. Smile till you’re blue in the face. Take the chance. Take a stand. Spread the love.” Day, K. (July/August 2007). Why a baby at 53? More Magazine, pp. 132- 136.

I love the analogy of parenting and bungee jumping. You really are free falling when you become a parent. But what a rush!! Parenting is like the Peace Corps. It is without question the toughest job you’ll ever love. You see, parents have the unique opportunity to love another person with such intensity, such passion, and such strength that it can only come from a source much bigger than ourselves. Through loving our children, we have the privilege of better understanding the essence of God. What a blessing!

1 Comments

Lori said:

Amen! I know understand "Agape" love.

July 24, 2007 9:25 PM

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