Shared in The Christian Walk
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"Lo children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is His reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them..." Psalm 127:3-5a
In the last years, my husband and I have received our fair share of comments and opinions regarding the size of our family. They have ranged from simple curiosity to outright unkindness.
"How many children do you have? Oh, you must be a much more patient woman than I am. I could never do it if I were in your shoes!"
"You aren't planning on having any more, are you?"
"What is wrong with you people? That is just irresponsible."
Some people think us to be "simple" in mind. Uneducated. Selfish. They think we must be "poor folk" taking advantage of state programs, and raising up children who will only do the same. They assume children in a large family (by today's standards) will naturally have fewer needs met. And unruly! Surely many children means more chaos, and less discipline!
We don't believe any of this to be true.
The Bible is something more than just a "book" to us, as a family. It is the Living Word of God. We rejoice in the work of Christ, and joyfully have accepted His salvation. It's just a natural "outworking" to then desire to please Him with the rest of our lives. We wish to live in obedience to what we learn He desires of us, through His Word.
In the Bible, we consistently read how children are a blessing from God. It is He who opens and closes the womb. To not have children meant sadness and humiliation. Infertility was often a punishment from God in the Old Testament. We, as His people, are even commanded to "be fruitful and multiply". How are Christians to "subdue" the earth, and affect the world for Christ, if there aren't many of us here?
Our main aim as Christian parents is to bring children "up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4) so that someday, when they are grown, they will choose to follow Christ and make an impact for His Name's sake. We, as parents, may never walk out onto the foreign mission field... but we have a rich field, white for harvest, right under our roof. What an amazing responsibility! And an exciting one at that!
People often incorrectly assume that without "family planning", we will endlessly be bringing children into the world. They tell us our bodies cannot handle such a thing, nor can our pocketbooks.
"At this rate," they say with disgust, "you'll end up with 20 or more babies!" -- Our reply? To everything, including childbearing, there is but a "season"... before rest. And if we did have twenty little ones to train up for the Lord... Wow! Wouldn't that be wonderful!?
We are rejoicing in the fact that God has chosen us to raise a number of children. We feel very unworthy, and often inadequate. But God has always, always proved Himself by providing consistently (and abundantly!) toward our physical needs. And there have been countless rewards for us as parents, as well. It isn't all drudgery! There's pleasure and excitement!
Our last (seventh living) child was born after a great deal of difficulties. I spent the last month of pregnancy on bedrest, and was induced for severe hypertension and pre-eclampsia. In labor, we lost the baby's heart tones, several times, creating quite a scare in the labor ward. Then, they almost lost me as well. I endured 23 hours of labor, plus 2 hours in second stage... before a cesarean was ordered. Postpartum, for me, was dreadful, and the baby proved terribly colicky.
When it was obvious that my fertility had returned at only two months postpartum, I was shocked. That had never happened so early before, and I was not ready for another pregnancy. I prayed that the Lord would allow my body time to heal. I knew I could turn to Him, and trust Him with my concerns. He was faithful, and answered my prayer. Another child did not enter the picture until both my body and mind were capable of handling it. There was excitement, not dismay, over the positive result in the test window.
To me, this was a great testimony of God's working in my life. My great and mighty God had cared enough to answer my simple prayer. And it brought me closer to Him, and deepened my faith and trust in His utter goodness.
Should He have chosen, instead, to bless us earlier than I deemed "right", I can confidently tell you that I trust that the Lord would have given me grace and strength to both accept and manage the pregnancy.
Every child brings to our family something new and unique. And every single person, even the smallest members, contribute in some way to the functioning of the house. We all have a role to play and everyone is loved and cared for. Their needs are perfectly met. We are not "skimming" off the state. Our children are educated and bright. And, our home life is not one of complete chaos. There is discipline.
Our time on earth is temporary. We wish to enjoy whatever blessings the Lord desires to send our way. How could we have said "no" to any one of these children? I am not in control, God is. And He has my greater good in mind. I understand so little in comparison!
Someday, after all of our earthly cares and strivings, we will come face to face with the Lord. Will He be pleased with the level of faith we have shown? Our lives are to be of service to Him... not ourselves. Family planning, as society promotes, allows us to put SELF on a pedestal, and places God beneath.
The fanciest house, the prettiest car, the "latest" of everything fancy, and lots of money are so vain and trivial! -- Just as you wouldn't turn down a gift from a loved one... we won't turn down any gifts the Lord is willing to send.
---C. Rella |
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