Have no fear, the intern is here!

While I was working out with my friend, and soon-to-be roommate Jennifer Jarvis (ad-hock Spring CoCo Chaplain) yesterday I remembered Kelsey Rice is to be married TOMORROW! We both are Kelsey’s age and the conversation volleyed back and forth about how neither of us are even CLOSE to getting married, and how we felt about it.

Now, I don’t want you to think I am “looking” get married, but when all those around you are walking down the aisle one has to dwell on it for a brief moment. It seems as though weddings are in the air right now. June is approaching and that, I guess, is the huge wedding month. I have already attended one wedding (last weekend, congrats Kira and Kyle) where we talked with our friends at the table when they would be doing the same. Two of the couples were talking about getting hitched in the next year or year and a half. I also heard this week my cousin was proposed to by her boyfriend of three years (congrats Joneil and Brian!). My aunts and grandma are on their way down to New Orleans to start planning for a wedding that will take place next May. And then there is Kelsey’s wedding. Geeze, wedding wedding, wedding!

Now weddings don’t make me automatically start thinking about babies, but who can disconnect the two? The conversations naturally flow from wedding to wedding night to children. Which I have been thinking a lot about lately. I picked up the latest issue of "Bitch" magazine while I was in the friendly bookstore searching for books for my workshop for the Leadership Event (insert shameless plug here!), Female Friendship. I grabbed my usual fix of magazines, "Ms" and "Cosmo" (I know, why bother?) when I was looking at the others. I usually pick-up "Bust", but I had already read it earlier from a friend, so I moved on. I was going to pass by, but while I was leafing through "Bitch" I found an article that was aimed directly at me, so, I bought.

The article “On Trends—The new breed: Defending the choice to be childfree” hit home with me after all of this wedding talk and consequentially baby conversation. My choice to be childfree is one, which has taken many years to decide to become. No, it’s not that I dislike children. I also spoke about it over lunch with a fellow intern, Laura Polk. Recently the subject has been on the news and on the Colbert Report (her most reliable news source) about how many women are deciding not to have children. Many say I will change my mind when I get married, but to those people I say, why? I think about this world with its overpopulation, abundance of landfills and lack of resources, and wonder, how I could do it? There are many other reasons, but they are not the reason for the blog this day. I respect the women and couples who decide to have children.

After reading the article in "Bitch", I no longer felt alone. Many have asked me, point blank, if I want children. First, I wonder why they are inclined to ask. Then, as I get over the initial shock of them asking, I respond with, “no, thanks.” My friends who want children are never asked, “why?” I , on the other hand, am always asked, “why,” where I must regurgitate my reasons.

The reason for the blog this day is being a person of convictions (not of reasons to why I am not having children). I think about all of the apostles who made a conscience decision to follow what they knew to be true, Jesus. I am sure they were asked “why” over and over. They probably had an answer they regurgitated as well. I like to think they looked back at those asking, “why?” and responded, “Why aren’t you?” I am sure others tried to talk them out of it. Giving up everything to follow a Christ around who would leave them seems, unfulfilling. But, on the contrary, it was (and is) the most fulfilling thing they (and we) ever do.

Luke 9:57
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."


PS: GOOD LUCK AND CONGRATS KELSEY!
~Brianne

Thank you for writing thiss