Do I rob them?

I spent much of the past weekend with my husband’s cousins who have small children and watching them. A thought had started to creep into my mind.  That I am robbing our parents of some great years of being grandparents. Now we don’t know the age of the children we will receive but they will probably be a little older. I do feel like I am robbing our parents of some on the most precious and sweet years in a child’s years. They will not experience stories, pictures or videos of first. There is so much that will not get to experience with our children because they will already be passed. I realize that a choice we made has rob them of many things that makes being a grandparent such a wonderful experience, there will be no birth announcements, no pictures of a swelling belly, no new little life to hold, no rolling over to watch, no first steps to wait for, no first words, and a good chance of no first day of kindergarten. For this I am sorry. I’m sorry that they will not have the moments. I’m sorry that I’ve rob them of some very sweet things. So do we change our minds, and not rob our parents? Or do we rob and maybe give someone else something better?

However on the other side of all this, we are giving much more. We are giving a child a home with a loving family. We are giving a child something they may have given hope for receiving something they may have given up on ever having. We have the chance of removing a child from place that is very dark. We have the chance of healing wounds caused by other people. We have the chance of breaking a link in a very destructive chain. Most of all we give hope and the kind of hope that Christ has given to me. Hope that things can change and things can better.

In the end they still get to be grandparents. They aren’t robbed entirely of the joys of the grandparent life. They may still get a few first. The firsts the get to experience maybe even better. That first moment when a child realizes how much better this life is going be. The first moment of realizing they are now safe. When making choices, I think we need to look at the cost. It will cost our family some very sweet moments, we are sacrificing  some great gifts. When looking at what will be gained, we have no idea how much good we'll bring in this life into our family will do. We have no idea how people will change or respond. In comparison, the things that are lost are nothing compared to the things that might be gained. Isn’t this what Christ did for us? Didn’t he sacrifice much, to gain more? Aren’t we called to be like Christ? Shouldn’t we sacrifice much, to gain even more?

Yes, I will choice to rob our parents to give something bigger and better to someone else.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27