This @nytimes op-ed completely misses the point on the purpose of marriage and children and completely misrepresents my views in the process. The entire article is laced with viewing family through the lens of money and career as if those things bring fulfillment and purpose. When you’re on your death bed, your money and your career won’t be whispering in your ear “I love you” as you take your last breath. The material goods and fortune of this world mean nothing when we go to our eternal resting place.
The author also conveniently leaves out the part of my Hillsdale commencement speech where I said “marry young, not rushed, but young.”
We serve a God of order and when you live a life ordered there’s a double portion of grace. Meaning marriage first, then kids, and everything else. Timing matters because life is shorter than you might think, and you never know what could happen. The point is, don’t put it off. Don’t rush it or force it if it’s not right, but don’t put it off.
I say this from a place of personal reflection. My marriage with Charlie and our babies are the biggest blessings of my life. I was 32 when I married Charlie, which in my mind is neither young to start a family or old. You just run up against statistics at that point and it just so happened to be the Lord’s timing and He still blessed us with two beautiful children. But I wish we met and were able to start our life and family together much sooner.
There is no such thing as perfect timing to have kids. Financial struggles are a part of life, but the problem is a lot of Americans are self-surviving, not self-sacrificing, and they expect to live a very distinct lifestyle based on what they see online. When Charlie encouraged young people to have more kids than they can afford, he wasn’t saying to recklessly bring a child into this world and have them on welfare. He was saying children aren’t a luxury item to have once you meet a certain tax bracket threshold. You don’t need a mansion in order to build a family.
It’s easy when you’re young to think that you have all the time in the world, but it’s a hard fact of life and science that that’s simply not the case. If you've met your person and you’re checking off boxes based on societal expectations of dating for a couple years, then a long engagement, then adjusting to married life before having children, you’re wasting valuable time. Getting pregnant in your late 30s and 40s is usually a lot harder than in your late 20s. Not always, but it’s a hard reality for many couples.
The inverted priorities of our current culture encourages women to believe that getting married and having children are weights on an otherwise rich and carefree existence. And yet, young Americans have never felt less happy or carefree. Children are not an obstacle, they're a gift from the Lord. They give life so much more meaning than you could ever imagine. When we stop looking at marriage and children as barriers to a happy life, maybe then there’ll be progress in this country.
My name is Pamela & I’m a Christian.
This June I’ll be celebrating & affirming marriage as it was designed to be by God; between one man and one woman (Matthew 19:4-6)
(Share a photo of you & your spouse with the caption above during “Pride” Month👆🏼)
@Psu7893@cecsquared Btw, did you know that brand names are often the companies filling the store brand containers. I buy some branded and some store-brands things. It depends on the individual items. Some store brand items are just as good as the name brand items.
@RuslanKD hey there! Just wanted to let you know that the link in your podcast description for your free Bible Reading Plan isn’t working. https://t.co/I8MSX3e4Om
@theRabidBogey@TheMuppetPastor That’s been the only way I have been able to wrap my head around Calvinism - foreknowledge. I’ll admit, I may be wrong, but trust that the God who created the universe and exists outside of time/space that we understand can be sovereign and allow free will somehow.
@SmartDogs23@DeborahDou11570@realsashastone It sure how long you have listened to her, but I was a faithful watcher while she was on Fox and from when she started her own pod. I left a couple month ago when she told her listeners to F Off.
@Pajamas76@realsashastone It is being questioned by people who used to subscribe. When she told us to F off, we unsubscribed, but many continue to call out her crap (thus the OP).
@BiblicalBeauty If she enjoys what I call light sci-fi, the Michael Vey series is really good. It is by Richard Paul Evans. The characters start as mostly high schoolers some of them with electric abilities. Classic good vs evil.