 |
| This photo shows my father, the baker, Ichabod (another baker), LI, and Mrs. Ichabod. Our grandson looks very much like LI in this photo. |
rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Fertility rate plummets in Brazil - The Washington...":
It seems that in this present time, many of the younger folks do not want to do what was so easy one or two generations ago. Getting married and being blessed with children seemed so normal and most aspired to do so. The responsibility of raising a family was a natural outgrowth of proper upbringing. Marriage rates are much lower today. The live-in partner almost seems to be the new norm. The commitment in marriage is what God has ordained for us. But, we have been told by experts that every family is dysfunctional. But, there is no drop-in replacement for a so-called traditional family.
***
GJ - Bruce Church has published a lot of good information on this. Pastors have seen the reality, and many of them were pioneers in the new morality. Virtually all couples who marry today have been living together for years, often with an illegitimate child or two, sometimes three.
Natural law means - God commands what is good for us. He created the institution of marriage. To live in sin, as we geezers used to say, is to defy the Word of God. But living in faith with a spouse and children glorifies God and generates the fruits of the Spirit.
Marriage protects men, women, and children. When children grow up with both of their parents under the same roof, they learn to model behavior after their fathers and mothers. They look for a spouse who is similar to the opposite sex parent.
My high school class celebrated our 45th reunion this year. A small group of us (out of 730 graduates) noted our 40+ marriage anniversaries and laughed about all the antics of our grandchildren. We have a lot of achievers - from the Medal of Honor to a distinguished law career.
Some classmates spoke about their travels, but I could say, "I am on vacation 12 months a year. I live 10 minutes from our son's family." In the last 28 months we have raked leaves, fed geese, watched movies, gone to church, grilled chicken, laughed about funny YouTube productions, played Uno, and celebrated Christmas three times."
I have attended over 25 of the famous Walmart Saturday Morning Meetings, which are required for their executives. The CEO of Walmart, Mike Duke, probably knows my face better than any other visitor's. Best of all, I know as much about our son's work as he knows about mine. When we come back from the meeting, he fills in Mrs. I. about his work.
What is more enjoyable - having a laugh with our grandson, enjoying a delicious meal from our daughter-in-law, sharing an old joke with Danielle, or buying a Bible in Mandarin for Josie? We heard she squealed with happiness.
I warn my students that they will never say, "That was a great meeting 20 years ago!" but they will go over all their pleasant memories of their families growing up. That is God's plan, natural law, as Jesus said, "That your joy may be complete."
