"I'm so glad we have at least two. Now it feels like I'm busy enough for staying at home to qualify as a real job."Have you ever felt that way? That there's not enough labor involved with raising just one child to constitute giving up a career to stay at home? Is there a particular number of children one must have or a certain level of busyness we must undertake in order for our calling to be considered a noble one?
Parenting is a task that far exceeds our abilities. Every mother is called to be for her child what no one else can be, and to do what no one else can do. We will be held solely responsible for the children God places into our care. Whether we have one child or two, six or twelve, our divine calling to raise them in the fear of the Lord remains the same.
In John 10:11-16, Jesus tells the story of two shepherds. One, the hired servant, cowardly abandons the sheep - after all, they are not his own. His self-interest is of greater importance. In contrast, the good shepherd is willing to lay down his life for the sheep because they are his. He treats what he owns with a love great enough to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Similarly, no amount of money can make a day care provider, baby-sitter, or school teacher love your children like only you can. No amount of delegation or waiver signing can change the fact that God appointed parents - not the State, nor the Church - to raise their children.
God does not differentiate between the parent of one child or the parent of many; His calling for mothers "... to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home... that the word of God be not blasphemed (Titus 2:4, 5)," is the same across the board. When we follow His guideline with joy and obedience, He is often pleased to bless our weak efforts, thanks to the atoning work of Jesus on the Cross.
Of course, the dynamics of managing a small family will look much different than managing a larger one. Those blessed with fewer children will have different opportunities than those blessed with more. Either way, your schedule is your creed; what you believe in you have time for. Your child reads it daily and decides which is more important to Mommy - her job, decorating the house, writing a blog, or instructing her children in the way of the Lord.
If you find yourself under attack for choosing to stay home and parent a single child, take heart - you cannot improve upon God's design. When given the choice, remember that the investments we make now have eternal repercussions, no matter how many arrows we find in our quiver.