By Carrie McCormack
OUR family was living in Melbourne while I was lacing up the boots of my four-year-old.
I lifted her foot up to lean against me to get a good grip.
She exclaimed, “Mum. Be careful. There’s a baby in there.”
I was surprised and thought, that would be possible but unlikely.
I carried on getting out the door on time.
A few days later, lo and behold, we discovered we were pregnant with our third. How did my child know this?
Another Brisbane family recalled a similar incident.
“My husband and I have been hoping so much for a second child,” the family told me.
“Just last week, our daughter was holding a mini baby toy, the size of a thumb.
“She started nursing it and singing, ‘Baby sister… baby sister’.
“A few days later, this grateful family has been able to confirm a pregnancy.”
Another couple were on their way for their seventh wedding anniversary holiday and as they were saying goodbye her five-year-old son came right up to her and placed his hand on her tummy, saying, “When you come back you will have a baby in there.”
They ended up doing a pregnancy test while they were away and discovered they were already five weeks pregnant.
This mum said to me, “I instantly thought of my son and wondered how he already knew”.
Angela Harris, an Ipswich mother to three young daughters aged five, four and two is 37 weeks pregnant with her fourth daughter.
Mrs Harris was recently asked to go to her daughter’s Prep class at the request of the teacher to talk about her unborn baby.
Angela shared that the children were fascinated by the concept of a baby growing in her tummy.
“It was such a lovely experience that I asked the teacher if I could bring in a set of models I have,” Mrs Harris said.
She was thrilled with the idea.
This set of six models show the stages of human development in the womb. There are moving parts, so the children could hold the baby and even see where the placenta connects the mother to the child.
“The class were captivated by the models from the moment I walked into the room,” she said.
“They were completely in awe of what I was showing them, and were almost climbing on top of me to see and touch them.
“Their eyes were shining with amazement that the baby in my tummy could look like these little models.
“They all took turns holding and touching the models and had lots of questions.”
Angela is active in raising up pro-life awareness and spends a lot of energy convincing people of the enormous impact that abortion has in our generation. Angela, being heavily pregnant, is an impressive model of how we can advocate for life in all seasons.
“As I sat there watching and answering the questions of these five and six-year-old kids, it dawned on me – these children are completely and utterly pro-life,” she said.
Angela reflected on this profound experience that children understand the awe of the baby in the mother’s womb.
“Children are unaffected by the complexities of our world; they innately see the sacredness and dignity of the unborn child,” she said.
“Children can teach us so much about our God and his plan for our lives – that every person is sacred, every life matters to God.
“I was reminded of the beautiful scripture from Jeremiah 1:5, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart’. ”
Small children know this to be true deep in their soul.
If only all adults could have such a beautiful, innocent view of the unborn child, there would be a lot less heartache and pain.
What really surprised Angela is she didn’t even talk about being pro-life at all.
She was amazed that children, when given the opportunity and the ideal environment, will speak freely with such love for the unborn.
Angela says that we can all live like this in our every day. As we walk the street we can affirm other women who are pregnant or families who make it to Mass with their kids.
Even congratulating aged members of our community on how many grandchildren they have or stopping when we see a family go by and say congratulations, what a beautiful family.
The revelation from the children at a local Catholic school shows us that by becoming like little children, we just need to delight in life, as they do.
We can then let the fruits of enjoying this gift speak for itself.
Carrie McCormack is the founder of Mother Effect, a ministry that promotes parents as the first educators, and understanding the potential of the child.
