No One Is an Accident

What story do you tell yourself about yourself?

Almost forty percent of the births in the United States each year result from unintended pregnancies. Unsurprisingly, then, there are scores and scores of articles offering parents advice on whether or not to tell their children that they were an “accident.”

Some parents fear that their children will feel unwanted if they learn the truth. Most child development experts assure their readers that well-loved children will not be bothered by the truth that their mother’s pregnancy was unplanned.

In other words, when children are sure that they are loved, they know in their gut that they are not really an accident. They belong here. Without them, their family—and for that matter this universe—would have a ghastly, aching hole in it.

That’s how powerful love is. Giving and receiving love makes life meaningful. Makes life worth living. In fact, without love, we would cease to exist as individuals and as communities.

Jesus said as much once when he was being indirectly criticized for playing fast…