Babies are a continuous source of hope.

Many couples reading today's headlines are convinced this world is too crazy to bring children into; you can't blame them. Trying to raise a child in our current culture can feel like trying to raise a flower in the crack of a New York City sidewalk; but while fear and anxiety are a natural emotion for would-be parents, the choice to be fruitful is an enduring and courageous encounter with hope.

In his book The Mystery of Children, Mike Mason describes babies as "renewers, groundbreakers and world-shakers, bearers of new seed, heralds of a new age." Instead of letting the problems around us frighten us from having children, we should recognize God's pattern of using new life to fix those problems, to bring renewal and fresh hope.

The timing of babies matters.

Extended life spans and fertility technology give couples the sense they can put off starting a family. Surveys, however, reveal a growing gap between desire and reality when it comes to having children. While only 2 percent of couples say they don't want children, 20 percent of couples end up childless; while 3 percent of couples say one child would be enough for them, 16 percent find themselves limited to one. Even though couples marry later today and need more time to finish their education and kick off their careers, their window of natural fertility remains fixed. Women today are often surprised to find their fertility begins its decline when they're in their late 20s, accelerates its drop when they're in their mid-30s and plummets when they're in their 40s.

A couple's age also affects their ability to keep up with children. While couples who wait later to get started might have more money in their bank account, they're more likely to find themselves exhausted by parenting much quicker than younger parents are. This is also true for grandparents. Children need grandparents who can get down on the floor to play with them ... and still be able to get back up.

Babies can be good for marriage, really.

Marriage therapists today often seek to correct the myth that having a baby will make a couple happier. They point out correctly that babies add tremendous new stress to a marriage and aren't a good prescription for turning a bad marriage into a good one. What couples don't hear enough, however, is that letting their love spill over into a new life can give them a fresh sense of purpose within their marriage. Parenting will require couples to adjust expectations about their sex life, their sleep patterns and their ability to take off on last-minute dates; but the parenting mission can mature and sweeten a marriage over the years when a couple commits to do it "as unto the Lord."

You can trust the Giver of life.

Looking at your personal circumstances, you might see challenges that would make the next year a tough time to start a family. Psalm 139 reminds us, however, that God ordains the days for each person before any of them come to be. If God has ordained this year as the time for a new baby to be born in your family, you can believe He is also able to "meet all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:19). Whatever your circumstances, you can trust the creator of life to help you start a family.

Maybe 2009 will be your year.

About the Authors: Steve Watters is the director of Family Formation at Focus on the Family. He and his wife, Candice, are the authors of the new book Start Your Family: Inspiration for Having Babies (Moody Publishers).