- Cindy Wright – November 17, 2012

I’ve been working on a project with a friend for both of our ministries and I was looking for something pertaining to the “Pre-baby” time in a marriage. It’s that stage when they’re pregnant, but they haven’t had the baby yet. As I was perusing the Internet to help stimulate my thinking, I came upon an article that brought some levity to my day, and a good laugh. (Thanks Lord, I needed that!)

I’m not too keen on the web site the article is housed on, and I can’t use the questions they posed to those who are expecting a baby in our project (because of copyright infringement). But I thought I’d provide a web site link anyway, so you can read the questions yourself and perhaps enjoy a laugh, as well.

Here’s one of the questions they posed concerning being ready for parenthood, which I hope you find as funny as I did (because of the truth that I’ve sure experienced personally while our sons were growing up):

“Can you clean up puke, change 10 crib sheets, make dinner, and help someone do homework while running a fever of 103?

“Okay, no one THINKS they can.”

Yep! We’ve been there and have done some things close to that… and more!

Here’s the entire article, to read:

• 10 Questions You Should Ask Before Having Kids

Having children sure tests every ounce of strength you ever thought you had, no doubt! And even though children are more of a blessing from God that I can’t even describe, they sure can be hard on a marriage! A lot of what happens can test even the best of marriage relationships because the entrance of children into your home life changes everything… and I mean most everything!

If you haven’t had children yet or you want to, I hope I haven’t frightened you too much. I love our sons (and their wives and children), and I can’t imagine not having them. But even so, those who have children sure need to do a lot of adjusting and readjusting and readjusting (hopefully, it’s healthy readjusting). And if one or both doesn’t do so, it can bring even more problems.

Why am I writing this? First off, to share a few laughs with you through the article I pointed out, and also to warn those who haven’t had children yet to please, please, please do what you can to shore up your marriage and communication skills. NOW is the time to get ready for a whole lot of shaking going on in your world together.

Kids are a blessing, but even with blessings, there are the ups and downs of it all.

And if you want a bit of help with it all, please go to the topic on our web site, Children’s Effects on Marriage. I’m hoping you will find at least part of what you need to help you, as God guides you there and beyond.