I see it a lot on social media — this sentence.
“I am afraid to bring my child into this world.”
And I totally understand that fear. Things seem really scary out there. Rarely does a month pass without news of a threat or act of terror, a mass shooting, or economic crisis. We have politicians we can’t trust. We have leaders we can’t follow. We have so many opinions and not enough facts.
But ya’ll, the worst thing we could ever do is not bring another child into this world. We can argue about politics all day long and make absolutely no progress with each other. We can debate religion, racism, privilege, and many other major social issues and spin our wheels for hours on end. But can we not universally agree that with each new life, we have new hope?
We have hope for more peacemakers. Children who become adults who put an end to violence. Children who become adults who use their words to express their thoughts and feelings and not their fists or their weapons. We have hope.
We have hope for more innovators. Children who become adults who use their minds to create, heal, and invent. Children who become adults who make incurable illnesses curable and impossible tasks possible. We have hope.
We have hope for more artists. Children who become the adults who appreciate the beauty in the ordinary. Children who become the adults who use their hands, bodies, voices, and minds to color the world. We have hope.
We have hope for more includers. Children who become the adults who accept, invite, and embrace, and love. Children who become the adults who use their hearts and souls to soften and shape those around them. We have hope.
Here’s the deal, though. We, the parents, have the job of teaching these future peacemakers, innovators, artists, and includers. These future entrepreneurs, activists, leaders, and champions. We have to show them the way.
We have an incredible responsibility.
But we also have hope.
