My dad once said that when he became a new parent, he discovered a whole new capacity for love, like a new heart that he’d never used before, but had been saved just for this purpose. That’s exactly what it’s like.
Some people worry that having kids is hard. It is.
Some people worry that having kids complicates life. It does.
Some people worry that having kids limits their freedom to do whatever they want. It does.
Some people worry that having kids will be expensive. It absolutely is.
Kids are frustrating sometimes. They’re annoying some times. They’re brats sometimes.
They won’t be the smaller version of you that you want them to be. They might not be able to do all the things that other kids can do.
They’ll grow up some day, and make decisions for themselves that you’ll absolutely hate about what to believe and how to live their lives.
You’ll make mistakes, and you’ll learn from them, but you’ll probably never stop questioning what you could or should have done differently.
And I could tell you how fun kids are, but fun isn’t the reason to have kids.
And I could tell you how happy kids are going to make you, but your own happiness is not a good reason to have kids.
And I could tell you how exciting it is to see them grow up, and reach new milestones and become more and more of their own person until you suddenly realize they’re not a toddler anymore. But that’s really just a part of it.
I could list a million other benefits of having kids that makes it all worth while.
But if you really want to know why having kids is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done, it’s really simple:
Love.
Any close relationship has ups and downs, but the reason we push through the tough times and invest in those relationships is because we know that the love we’ll share will be worth it. This is more true with your children than it is about any other earthly relationship.
When you have kids, you don’t just experience more love; you experience a new kind of love that’s like nothing else. You’ll have a greater understanding of God’s unconditional love for us. You’ll have a greater understanding of what’s important in life, because your life isn’t just about you anymore. And if you have an incredibly wise and loving spouse like mine to share it with, that love gets multiplied exponentially.
So I’m proud to be a dad. Not because I’ve done anything great, and not because my kids are any more special than the next kid, but because when I look back at my life, I’m going to know that I gave, received, and experienced love more fully than I would have otherwise.