“{When you become a parent} self is no longer the centre.
There is new object to live for, an object great enough to fill all their life and engross their highest powers.
It is only when children come that life becomes real,
that parents begin to learn to live.
We talk about training our children but they train us first, teaching us many a sacred lesson …
Our homes would be very cold and dreary without the children.
Sometimes we weary of their noise. They cost us no end of toil.
When they are very young they break our rest many a weary night with their colics and teething,
and when they grow older they well nigh break our hearts many a time with their waywardness …
There are some who therefore look upon the coming of children as a misfortune … they see no blessing in them.
But it is cold selfishness that looks upon children this way.
Instead of being hindrances to true and noble living, they are helps.
They bring benedictions from heaven when they come,
and while they stay, they are perpetual blessings …
It is a great thing to take these young and tender lives, rich with so many possibilities of beauty, of joy, of power,
all of which may be wrecked,
and to become responsible for their shaping and training and for the upbuilding of their character.
This is what must be thought of in the making of a home.
It must be a home in which children will grow up for true and noble life, for God and heaven.
Upon the parents, the chief response rests.
They are the builders of the home. From them it receives its character,
whether they must be the authors of happiness; if it be unhappy,
the blame must rest with them.
They have the making of the home responsible in their own hands,
and God holds them responsible for it.”
-J.R. Miller Home-Making
P.S. This lovely book, Home Making, can be purchased here. It was written in 1882 and is a beautiful book to read for all parents. It is not just about “home making” but the actual creating of a Christ-centered home life for your family.
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by Gigi
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