Quote of the Day for Sunday, January 30th, 2011:
Timothy Dalrymple, writing at Patheos.com, on Why We Have Children:
At the thought of fathering a daughter, waves of joy rolled through me. I loved my little girl long before I met her. I read her stories in the womb, sang to her, prayed for her. It wouldn’t matter what she looked like or what her personality was. She was mine—mine to nurture and protect, mine to train and guide, and mine to love with all my might.
We have children because love overflows. I believe as a Christian that I am created in the image of a God who is Love, a God whose love so desired an object that it brought us into being. Although the wisdom and power of love within us is clouded and twisted by sin, still the image of Love is there. We have children because love is essentially creative, and because our souls long for other souls we can love lavishly and forever.
I’ve been less than impressed with most of my infrequent visits over to the Patheos site, but this piece by Dalrymple really struck me. It struck me that, with all the noisome, tiresome tumult that the so-called culture wars generate, it really comes down to the gentle, magnificent truth that we have children because love overflows. This is a very personal essay that will surely vindicate the few minutes it will take to read it.