Children and incarnation part 2 or 3

I was vacuuming leaves out of the pachysandra the other day thinking about my children and how they are the incarnation (or enfleshment) of the love that my wife and I share. I have written about this before but I had another thought cross my mind. I remember great pain, in my youth, when I thought that my mom and dad did not love each other anymore. It is so obvious to me, now, that they did and still do. Yet in my inexperience and sheer emotionalism I recall certain times when I thought that their love was through. That it was going to be over. That was not something that I would want anyone to feel or to go through and I think I am gaining a better understanding of why that is.

Because our children are creatures of love (as the Talking Heads put it) my love for their mother is really the core, or the fabric, of their very existence. In some way, without intellectualizing it, my children know that the love that my wife and I share together, and us acting on that love, produced them and sustains them in no small measure. Obviously, God's work in our lives and their's is ultimately responsible for their being here at all. At the same time the love of God working in an through us is the clearest picture they have of why they are here.

When the love that their parents share is threatened (or at least perceived to be) the very fabric of why they are here is weakened and torn. The love that gave them flesh is suddenly pulled out from under them and their feet are not touching the solid foundation that they crave. I think that the only way to successfully overcome this is for them to throw themselves onto the love that God has for them and fully embrace His role in their lives...from its beginning until its end. Now, a loving parental relationship that points to a God that loves; the ones that produced their lives in concert with the One Who delighted to bring them life - that is the most blessed gift of all.

That is exactly what I had with my mom and dad. I pray that I will be able to give even a tenth of that to my boys.

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