January is a unique month for the pro-life movement, thanks to the presence of the March for Life. This year, on January 23rd, hundreds of thousands of Americans will gather to bring awareness to the sanctity of human life. As a college student, I was privileged to be able to attend the march several times and I am always edified by the experience. The numbers of people present, the messages we heard and the joy around the topic of life left me changed.

These memories inspired in me a sense of hope about the future. Speakers and individuals would state that the culture of death is shifting to a culture of life – that there are tremendous reasons to be optimistic about the deeper appreciation for life that is growing among Americans. This sense of hope left me thinking positively about what the future would hold for the life movement.

Getting older, I am even more grateful for these moments of encounter with the power of life. Now, as a father of three children, the grandeur of life has struck me in more concrete ways. Finding out that we were pregnant was momentous. Seeing my children on the sonogram for the first time was an experience I will never forget.

At the same time, and on the opposite side of life, traveling with family members as they age has also been enriching yet also challenging. Watching one’s parents get older reveals that life is fragile but is abundantly precious as well. Both the birth of one’s child and the passing of a loved one showcases that life is amazingly beautiful.

With the March for Life approaching, my wife and I have begun to consider how we can foster awareness about the beauty of life at all stages to our children. Since our oldest is only five years old, it is not yet time to have serious conversations with him or his younger siblings about the issues of the pro-life movement. However, we have started to see that there are some simple practices that can be accomplished with intentionality to organically teach our kids about the value of life.

First, we have taken the time to show our older kids the picture of them as babies. Printing these newborn photos out and giving them a copy has allowed them to see that they were once as small as their baby sister now is. The way that the older boys help their sister, care for her and play with her is also a small way to embody in them that every person begins small and deserves love.

Praying for those in our family who are pregnant is also a practice that we have continued to implement. Each night before the boys go to bed we ask them who they would like to pray for and we give our intentions as well. The practice of praying for our loved ones who are pregnant has had unintentionally positive consequences. After starting the practice, my boys began to ask us, “is there really a baby in auntie’s belly?” This opened up avenues for us to express the beauty of life even before they are able to meet their cousins.

For respect of life for the elderly and infirm, we have implemented writing cards and coloring pages for the older people in the family who are sick or are celebrating a birthday. This has become both a humorous and powerful practice. The pictures they draw typically bring laughs and smiles to the faces of their grandparents while also showing them that their little grandchildren love them dearly.

Whether it is a colorful picture for a birthday or a note when they might have to be in the hospital for some reason, the extra care shown to them shines a light on the fact that they are not forgotten and that they are deeply loved.

It seems to me that this is the common thread in how to foster a culture of life in one’s own home. If children across the country and world can be shown, from an early age, that life is beautiful no matter the age or health then we can continue to change the tide away from a culture of death and towards a culture of life. Crafting a new generation of those who see the precious quality of life begins at home, because it is at home where we first learn to love. It is precisely that love which ought to be shown to all people, no matter their age, health or abilities.