Long, long ago, before there were cell phones and when digital referred to toes and fingers, we received a letter from Insight magazine asking us to write an article about why so many young Adventist couples were deciding not to have children. Brenda and I had been married for nearly six years, and had no plans for adding to our two-person family.

Yes, we had cats.

We agreed to the invitation, and began canvassing our childless married friends. Before long we had six or seven excellent reasons for not having kids. Like…

1. We are close to the end of time and it would not be fair to bring children into the world just as the Time of Trouble begins.

2. We are working at an Adventist college and have chosen to adopt the children of other families rather than have our own. This way, we can do a much better job of “serving the needs of others.”

3. Good stewardship demands we plan our finances carefully, and spend wisely for God’s kingdom. If we are to serve to the fullest extent of our calling, we will not have adequate funds to raise children. Especially in these, the Last Days.

4. Having children is selfish. Caring for children who have been abandoned by others is selfless service, as commanded by God.

There were more reasons, each carefully crafted and backed up with Scripture and quotes from Ellen White. Each woven into a leak-proof rationale for remaining childless.

We sent the article to Insight, and waited.

When the envelope arrived, it was a simple rejection note from the associate editor. “Your article is too convincing,” she wrote. “We cannot use it.”

We were devastated, especially since we worked so hard at being convincing! So we wrote back. “You got what you asked for and must use it. Have someone with four or five kids write the other side of the issue and call the entire issue, 'To Parent, or Not To Parent.' People will love it!”

They agreed, commissioned a parent author, and sent a check.

When the magazine arrived we read “To Parent” first. It was an emotion-filled treatise about how wonderful it is to have your young son stumble across the room to you with peanut butter and jam all over his face. Proud of our well-crafted arguments, we made fun of the author and tried to hide the fact that Brenda was now seven months pregnant.

That was 30 years, and three children, ago. They’re the lights of our lives, scattered around the world. One ministers as a teacher, another as the Internet ad manager for a newspaper, and another as mother of our first grandchild.

He, by the way, is crawling across the kitchen toward Grandma, jelly-faced and eager for another of her famous hugs. The love on her face is as wide as God’s Eden smile!

Ah, parenting is such irrational pleasure!

Dick Duerksen is an associate vice president for mission development at Florida Hospital.