While we were on Prince Edward Island last month, we were provided a place to stay for several days at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast.

One gentleman we met at the B&B was a “boarder” (meaning he was there for a longer period of time than the typical guest and he was also provided a dinner meal). He was on PEI driving a truck during the potato harvest. As we talked, he shared that he is an Acadian.

I don’t think I had ever heard of the Acadian people before, but it was fascinating to hear of their background. They are a people group that had come from France back in the 1700’s to settle in Canada and the United States (those that settled in the US lived mostly in the Louisiana area and were called Cajuns). Because they maintained their own nationality/heritage, they weren’t fully accepted by the nations they were living in. They were eventually forced to leave Canada (during the French-Canadian war) and their lands given to others.

Long story short…

This man knew the heritage of his family, generation by generation, all the way back into the 1760’s when his family re-settled back into Canada.

Sadly, he shared that the Acadian people are no longer like what they were years ago. They are losing their identity as a people and their numbers are dwindling away. He was so proud of his heritage and people, but you could see a sadness in his eyes as he shared about the demise of his people and the reason why they are dwindling away.

This was why he told me the Acadian people are disappearing as a people: the Acadians no longer have large families with lots of children. He said that even one or two generations ago the family sizes were MUCH larger than they are now. He was one of 8, but he and his wife only had 4 children.

God’s Word tells us that children are an heritage from Him “children are an heritage of the LORD” (Psalms 127:3), and Jesus rebuked the disciples for preventing the little children from coming to Him, “suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14) The word ‘forbid’ means to hinder, to withhold, to deny, to refuse. How many people today are forbidding children to come to Jesus by not allowing them a chance at life?

I believe that any nation which rejects God’s blessing of children is destined to become a weak and powerless nation, not only based upon what God’s Word says, but simple logic.

Even our own nation is beginning to suffer the consequences of rejecting children through smaller family size. So many seem blind to the real issues… For example, when was the last time you heard that the real problem with our Social Security and Medicare system (granted, this is apart from core systemic issues with both programs that God’s Word addresses!) is that families are not having enough children?

On the other hand: one of the highlights for all of us when we travel is being able to see all the children at the various conferences – and what a delight it was to see Abigail when we got back!

In Christ,
Christopher