We hear it all the time.
"Are all those your children? How many are you going to have? Don't you know what causes that? How can you afford having so many? When are you going to stop?" (My favorite answer for the last question comes from Andy - When are we going to stop? As soon as we have an ugly one.)
But all the questions can be quite discouraging. We understand we're bucking popular wisdom - and even church culture. Believe you me, we understand the demands of a large family much more than you. You just get to see glimpses from the outside and imagine how tough it must be. We live it day in and day out. But the joy that comes from following God's plan surpasses any luxury car, dream vacation, or regular trips to the spa. We can't imagine doing life any other way.
But we'll be the first to admit that it is demanding. God never promised that choosing His way, surrendering to His plan was going to be easy. I've always said that the easy life is eternity in heaven. Right now I'm called to work, and work hard.
And because of this calling to do things different, to not follow the status quo, to put God in charge of our family size, we face lots of criticism. So any time Andy runs across an article or website showcasing another couple walking in our shoes, he passes it my way. Here's a little excerpt from the article I read this morning.
In 1997 in an article titled "A Call to Arms," Barbara Curtis wrote:
Still, I wonder what the church would look like today if we were influenced less by the culture which sees children as invaders - who will rob us of our freedom, status, beauty, wealth, and sanity - and influenced more by Scripture, which steadfastly affirms children as God's reward, as in Psalm 127:
"Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children are a reward from Him
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate."
She went on to explain how her heart would ache when she faced similar questions -- ache for the children in earshot, ache for the missed opportunities, and finally ache for the misunderstanding of how it all must sound to God - who certainly never got the memo that children were a burden.
Andy and I remain firm in our own questioning: "Lord, how many children do You desire for our family?" We feel much more comfortable taking such a weighty matter to the One who knows better than we know ourselves, who just might have some ideas of His own.
It's a wild ride, and we're loving every minute of it. There's nothing better than riding God's motorcycle, sitting directly behind Him, arms stretched forward, wrapped around His waist.
