What if....

I just recently read a post from a fellow blogger who is going through a hard time trying to decide if she wants to have kids or not. What made her dilemma interesting was that she wasn’t worried about whether or not she would be a good mom, or if she would have all the right answers or always know what to do, but she was worried about the violence and tragedy in our world today and how parents cope with the possibility of something terrible happening to their child.

Here is my response to her concerns:

----------------------------------------------------------
When I was in grade 6, my teacher asked the class a question in response to a recent news story about a baby that had been killed in car crash. (The parents survived). The question was:
“Knowing your baby was going to die, would you rather the baby dies a few weeks after he was born, or when he was 18”.

This was our homework assignment, and although my response today is probably a little more polished, it went a little something like this:

“If I knew my child was going to die, I would rather have the opportunity to know them and develop memories with them until they reach the age of 18. If my baby died right away, I would never have the opportunity to get to know them, see them smile, experience all the wonderful “firsts” that having a child provides you with, and most of all, limited memories to keep close to my heart.”

We can’t know what the future will bring; we can only embrace what we have now. I truly, fully believe with every fibre of my soul that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes finding the reasons behind a tragedy seem difficult, but there is always a reason, you just need to find it.

If we don’t follow our dreams, or reach for our goals because of all the “what if’s” out there in the world, then who and what are we living for?
----------------------------------------------------------

I hope my answer helps her find what she is looking for.