Fertility is a tricky thing…most consider it a private issue with little consequence except how it will affect their family vacations. Unless you encounter a family with more than three children, and then you’re allowed to prod into their sex lives; but I digress.
However, it is my particular opinion that NOTHING changed our culture and the face of Christianity as much as our changed worldview of children. NOTHING. (Try your mind at the “connect-the-dots” related to our view of children. I won’t get to it in this post; perhaps another day.)
And for that reason, I also believe it is our urgent duty to challenge each other, in the body of Christ, to consider our worldview here.
Your worldview shapes every decision you make. Everyone has a worldview, whether consciously or not. If you don’t deliberately form your worldview around the principles and laws of God’s Word, you will take the default view of the culture and that will shape your life choices. For a Christian, that is very serious. “Do not love the world or anything in the world.”
A worldview refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which we interpret the world and interact with it. A worldview describes a consistent (to a varying degree) and integral sense of existence and provides a framework for generating, sustaining, and applying knowledge. (From Wikipedia)
Regarding children, the fundamental questions must be answered for us to form a correct worldview. Who creates life? What is their purpose? What is our purpose?
And we begin to unravel that...
realizing our purpose here, according to Jesus, is DYING daily to live a life that glorifies Him, leading those whom the Lord has given us to that abundant Life, serving and teaching them to serve–the essence of bringing a lost world to know Christ…then our worldview will get turned upside down and it will change everything!
Think about how little our culture’s punch list for life has to do with the few things with which we are charged from Scripture? I would even challenge you to stop here, and make a list with two columns. “What society expects of me and my children” and “What the Lord has asked of me and my children.”
We ask the wrong questions when we get tangled in things like, “Is it right or wrong for a Christian to use birth control?”
That question can have important implications in sorting through a biblical view of children, but if often leads to wrangling over words.
There is always liberty in Christ, and this issue is no exception. But our liberty doesn’t give us a license to disregard the pursuit of the mind of Christ and take on the opinions of a culture who rejects Him.
The important thing is simply our starting place. When our thoughts chase after His thoughts (“Your thoughts are not my thoughts, says the Lord…”), we allow Him to guide our choices instead of assuming the status quo. In the hard places, He will guide us with wisdom.
We start with the job we were given on this earth…”to wash feet”, essentially. Doesn’t that encompass nearly everything Jesus commanded?
And we work our way from there.
Children are given to us as gifts, as tools, as a heritage, as a growing of His church, and as a means by which we are changed, challenged and formed more into the Lord’s image. Children are His people, showing us the keys to Heaven (“unless you become like a little child…”) He knows. Christians cannot make light of turning fertility on and off like a faucet. Children are not for us. They are not for displaying and showcasing. They are His “to do and to will of His good pleasure.” May we be honored to serve as vessels, ushering them into the world and then immersing them in His love.
(Reposted from archives)
53 comments
This is RICH. Thick with TRUTH. Those 2 questions you challenged us to ask ourselves…what does society expect, what does Jesus expect. SO convicting. Thank you for speaking truth IN LOVE.
Years ago, my husband and I believed we had ‘enough’ children. (4)
And we took steps to make sure we were ‘done’.
By God’s grace, through the miracle of adoption, through His mercy and love, He gently taught us the TRUTH…and now we never say ‘enough’ or ‘done’. 🙂 It is His kindness that leads to repentance, praise Him!
I wish I could be there at the conference in May to hear more TRUTH from Him through you and the other precious ladies. I will get my friends to take good notes. 🙂
Blessings!
After we had our 5th child, we had so many people ask us if we were done. My husband told me that he felt we should trust the Lord with the size of our family.I will be honest here..I Thought He Was Crazy!
He didn’t nag me or make me.He just left me alone with the idea and the Holy Spirit began to work big time in my heart.Yes,I was a Christian at the time.Within a few short months…I began to realize that I truly said that I knew I could “Trust” the Lord with every situation in my life.I had seen this for years.I Knew that I knew that I could trust him..Could I trust him with the size of my family?I had been praying hard and I finally Knew!! Without a doubt..I could trust him with the size of my family.I still remember the night I told my husband.We were so excited! We were in our mid 30’s at the time and thought it would be great it we even had 2 or 3 more children or more. It took us a year to get pregnant!! I had our son Morgan when I was 37 and he was our last! I was already going through menopause when I had him and within a year of having him I was finished with menopause..lol.My mom had a hysterectomy very young and my grandma went through menopause in her 30’s..go figure.
I am so thankful we have him! He is about to turn 14! One of the main things that the Lord showed me through this was that “We(myself included) say that we love him and trust him in everything..but do we trust him enough to say “Yes Lord..I will trust you with the Blessings you give me”. I truly wish that I had trusted him earlier with that decision..Our three oldest children are now in their 20’s and the three youngest are in their teens.I have seen the Lord use my children in ways..mostly with my extended unsaved family members in ways that I could never have imagined.Your children will be used by the Lord also!! So..all of you mommies out there of little ones..Keep Loving and Training your children!! Keep Trusting the Lord with your sweet families.I PROMISE YOU that you will REAP the benefits in time! It does such a warming to my heart and spirit when I see Christian mommies having children and loving them like they should!! I just wanted to share how the Lord worked in my life in this situation. Blessings to you all today from Beautiful Sunny Florida!!
Wonderful post. Thank you for speaking the truth on this topic. My husband and I are expecting our 6th child in a few weeks. We did not start out our marriage viewing children as a blessing, we did not search the scriptures on these things, we did not give God control of our fertility. We are thankful for those that spoke the truth to us and for God’s changing our hearts.
I am often so amazed at how many of our Christian friends and family are in such disagreement with us on this. We try to speak the truth in love but many get angry with us. In this day and age I feel there is not only the difficulty of trusting and having faith on this issue, but there is also the persecution and lack of encouragement from other believers. It is quite lonely at times. So I am so grateful for blogs like yours.
I was especially encouraged by your last paragraph – “Christians cannot make light of turning fertility on and off like a faucet. Children are not for us. They are not for displaying and showcasing. They are His “to do and to will of His good pleasure”. May we be honored to serve as vessels, ushering them into the world and then immersing them in His love.” Our children ARE for God, and what a privilege and honor to serve as a vessel.
Thank you for your blog.
Blessings
“Children are not for us” is quite a nugget to think on!
No one has a right to judge a person by the size of their family. Each individual has a God given right to decide whether they have completed their families or not. Yes, children are a gift! But a mother is made when her first child is born, adding endless to the family doesn’t add or substract from that mothers love for her child/children. We have a right to decide our families size. God gave us good brains to decide this and science that helps us realize our right. A family who decides to keep the number of children small or not to have any does not lessen the value we place on children. No way, No how!!
Bravo for missing the *entire* point of the post. Of course family size doesn’t determine the value one places on his children. Can you point me to where I hinted at that?
What I did say was that we live in a culture that does not view children the way God does, and that drastically affects our entire lives, not just our family size.
People can jump up and down all day, or get angry (unnecessarily) about this point, but it doesn’t change: “It’s not about family size. It’s about an attitude toward children”.
I have friends who are infertile who get this point and have become the “mother to many”, in many different ways, because of it.
A wrong attitude about children also makes us angry when we are asked to examine it.
The science given to us must be carefully examined, as well, against biblical standards. You are aware that birth control pills can cause spontaneous abortions–one of the regular line of defense–right?
The reality is that the *ability* to take control over the womb has drastically affected the value we place on children, as a society. That fact is as obvious as the hand on your arm and must be reckoned with.
To Terri…
A persons worth is measured by family size. By trusting the Lord with our fertility we also realize that God’s plan for us may NOT be to have children. God grows families in all size and by many means (including adoption, foster parenting, or mentoring).
No children, many children, it is all for His glory not ours.
Sorry that should read “A persons worth is *NOT* measured by family size”
Word Warrior, Your tone in this post does not suit you.
“A wrong attitude about children also makes us angry when we are asked to examine it.”
“The reality is that the *ability* to take control over the womb has drastically affected the value we place on children, as a society.”
AMEN! Those are some powerful quotes!
Terri,
I would never judge a person by the size of their family.It is a couples decision to decide how many children they will have. I had so many questions and fears when my husband first approached me with this.It took time and answers from the Lord to convince me.I am sure there are those in my circle of homeschoolers who have wondered why I have only had six..lol. This really can be a very touchy subject!!
Many good points, especially about turning fertility on and off. I was just thinking today about “the bad timing” according to the world of 2 of my children and I was overcome with joy that the Lord saw fit to bless me with them when He did!
I’m having a hard time with this right now. My husband was through after 2 -10 yrs ago. But I and the Holy Spirit convinced him to hold off on the visectomy he wanted a few years back. We are now 8mos pregnant which was a complete surprise to both of us. I cann’t say I’m thrilled about being this old(40), my youngest 10, and doing all this again, but I do believe God is in control and knows what He is doing. I’m not thrilled with the timing, we are having problems right now. But I still believe God should be in control of creation, He is the Creator, I don’t believe we have a right to take that control. My husband just went on with his visectomy 2wks ago, knowing how I felt and even telling me when we first found we were pregnant that he was able to use this pregnancy as a witnessing tool because we had not been clear as to God’s guidiance about birth control. He told me a few days before his proceedure that if this was wrong, we could not ever go to a doctor again. I realize this was his reasoning to do what he wanted to do but I really don’t know what to do now. I am upset and I pray that God will still touch his heart, but I really don’t know how now. He is my husband, I need to forgive him, I want to forgive him but at the sametime, I don’t know…I’m just so confused, hurt, emotional. God can work everything together for good. His ways are not ours. I don’t want to just get over it and don’t know how I can but how do we ever heal, if I don’t. My husband is the head but what if the head does something that seems to go against the Lord and then we all make mistakes and we all sin but… Sorry, I really just need to talk this through with someone and to get guidiance from the Lord. Please pray for me/us. Thank you.
A,
First, I echo Keri’s sentiments that you have so much rejoicing to do over this new life! May I gently encourage and remind you that if you were “too old” you wouldn’t be pregnant 😉 God created the child-bearing time table; it is our culture that says “too old”. There are even scientific reasons a 40-something should rejoice in pregnancy. Her body is releasing an extraordinary amounts of “youth-preserving” hormones and other goodies for her body. This is another reason why it’s so absurd that the culture says “too old”. Enjoy this pregnancy with everything in you! 😀
I will pray for any grief and anger/struggles you are having over your husband’s decision. Remember, as I said in the post, that “numbers” aren’t the point but a heart toward children. Raise your children with a biblical worldview and purpose. God honors a heart that is after His.
Kelly, what are those youth preserving hormones you are mentioning?
My health has deteriorated quite a bit since my 2nd pregnancy, and I am not the same any more.
sometimes i feel so tired and weak that wonder if the Lord is not just telling me to quit homeschooling so I am not wo wore out. I have the impression I cannot give my children all they need, not only academically, but in every sense. I feel just too old and tired.
Carolina,
I’m not a medical practitioner, but speaking as a homeschooling mom who has experienced a great deal of fatigue in recent months and am now beginning to get relief from it, I would encourage you to see your health care provider, who may be able to recommend appropriate tests for you that could illuminate physiological reasons behind your fatigue, and get you on the road to healing.
There are many very common reasons a woman could be experiencing fatigue (again, run these by your provider and ask about the feasibility of testing for them): anemia, potassium/sodium imbalance, nutritional deficiencies, food sensitivities/intolerances, thyroid issues, adrenal insufficiency, and more. Also, I don’t know what age you are, but being perimenopausal can result in fatigue.
One other thing I thought of reading your comment, Carolina: you said that your health deteriorated after your second pregnancy. Have you ever been tested for celiac disease (intolerance to gluten)? Feeling fatigued and very unwell is very common among untreated celiac sufferers, and although people with celiac disease may not have any outward symptoms for a time (even years), pregnancy can be one of the triggers of the disease. I would get that checked out, especially if CD runs in your family.
Most of all, I want to encourage you not to throw in the homeschooling towel because of your fatigue! Seek some answers, and ask the Lord for strength to carry on in what He has called you to do as He brings healing to you. I know how hard it is to function with debilitating fatigue, but God is faithful and will enable you to fulfill His calling on your life. I’m praying for you, Carolina 😉
Thanks, 6 arrows.
i am almost sure that i suffer from adrenal fatigue, but neither my family doctor nor my gnecologist knew really anything about it.
they ordered a bunch of tests and everything came back negative. they told me it is normal for my age -47- and the age of my children -two very dynnamic boys ages 8 and 5-.
So they sent me home with no help for me. i just feel i am too old for my children. i also suffer from insomnia, and sometimes it is simply too much. my husband is 57, and he is also tired sometimes, or does not feel weel. so, he does not get involved with the children the way i think he would do if he was younger. sometimes i feel sorry for my children, for not having younger and more dynamic parents. i have absolutely no help with the children either bc my family lives across the atlantic ocean, and my in-laws cannot really help.
sometimes, like now, i get discouraged.
I’m very sorry you weren’t helped more by your doctors, Carolina. I know that’s very discouraging to go to the time and expense to get things checked out and come away with few (or no) answers.
Like you, Carolina, I, too, have suspected I’m suffering from adrenal fatigue, and I did some research on dietary strategies I could implement to boost my energy levels. One website I found in my research that you may find helpful like I did is this one: http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/adrenal-fatigue-diet
Also, if you’re interested in locating a professional in your area who is more knowledgeable in treating adrenal fatigue than your doctors apparently are, you can click on “Find a Healthcare Provider” in the sidebar of the above-named website. I hope you can find some answers, and am praying for that for you.
Having said all that, though, I would be remiss if I didn’t point you toward the Great Physician of Soul and Body. God truly does look with compassion on our sufferings, gives us the grace to bear up under our burdens, and brings the measure of healing He lovingly ordains in His good and perfect timing. Though some days seem hard to us (sometimes many days), He is there, and He cares. Immerse yourself in the Word and drink in His promises, Carolina. Let the tears come if they need to as you cry out to the Lord. He brings healing in so many ways, and a good cry can be one of those ways through which He brings us a measure of peace in our trials.
You know also that God works through other believers to bring relief to His people. Is there anyone in your church you can ask to assist you with your children or with household tasks from time to time, since your family is unavailable? Or maybe some from your homeschooling community who have older children that can help? Don’t be afraid to let your needs be known to your local Body of believers…there may be some who are willing and able to provide some practical assistance, but who aren’t aware of where the needs are. And it’s good to pray that the Lord would bring people like that into your life if they are difficult to find right now.
Carolina, I want to also encourage you that you are not too old for your children, or that you need to “feel sorry for your children, for not having younger and more dynamic parents”, as you said. My husband and I are 53 and 49, respectively, and our two youngest children (in my case, and the three youngest in my husband’s case) were born when we were in our forties. God blesses His people with children at just the perfect time for His purposes. Rest in the knowledge that God’s will and timing is perfect. Pray for wisdom to impart to your children just what God desires in the season of life you, your husband and children are in. Take it one day at a time. His mercies are new every morning.
Blessings and peace be yours, Carolina.
I, too, had medical practitioners tell me that my fatigue, anxiety, shakiness etc were due to having “so many kids”. That was 10 years ago, we had only four (in less than six years) and I was only 30. When you turn 40, a thyroid test is routine. It turns out that I have an autoimmune disease that affects my thyroid.
I spent 10 years struggling daily-all because of my hyperthyroid. It may or may not be a problem for you, but I wish a doctor had thought to check it 10 years ago. It would have made a huge difference for me and my family.
If your adrenal tests are normal I encourage you to have your thyroid tested.
A,
My heart goes out to you. I will pray for you and your husband.
I also want to encourage you that the age of 40 can be a very nice time to have a baby! I have had babies in my 20s, 30s, and 40s, the youngest being born when I was 45. I think you will find a new kind of joy beginning the parenting journey again with a new blessing. Through your relationship you have with the Lord (I see in you, from the comment you left here, a strong desire to understand the Lord’s ways and walk in them), you will step into parenting this child with a new level of wisdom and maturity that God grows in us as we walk with Him over the years. Each new baby brings a fresh opportunity to see where the Lord has taken us in the years since the previous baby came. That knowledge can be a real comfort and will sweeten the parenting journey, no matter what your age!
Many blessings be yours, A.
Dear A,
I just want you to know that myself and I’m sure many others will be praying for you. I have several close friends who have had babies at 40.It’s not to old. I’m really sorry that you’re husband went ahead with his vasectomy when you didn’t want him to.We have had friends who made that decision with the others agreement.It has to be hard.One of the wisest pieces of advice a very sweet and Godly friend told me years ago in regards to something that happened with my husband was for me to “Forgive Him”.I know that you will be able to do this..I’m praying for you.Also, when you have this baby..and the total joy from having him/her seeps into your home…Well my friend..what a Blessing it will be.I would say at 8 months pregnant that you would be pretty emotional right now anyway and then add this.(I think we were all emotional at 8 months preg..)Keep that in mind..I don’t want to sound like okay now just forgive him..like a quicky answer.Sometimes it takes time..to forgive.The Lord will give you the forgiveness for him..Keep seeking and asking..Even though you will have an age difference of 10yrs. between this baby and your youngest..all I can think about is what Fun and Blessings your children and you all will have!!Prayers and Blessings for you today!!
I have only one child and he is 8 years old now. I am also constantly dealing with people (some well meaning ans some not) digging into our private sex life & fertility. People assume that we chose to only have one child and I must be on birth control. I have been told that I am very lucky that I only have to deal with one child and that I have it very easy as a mother because I only have one child. I have even been told that I am not a “real” mom because I don’t know how difficult it is to deal with more than one child. I am also constantly asked why we don’t have more children and asked when are we going to have more (although that question has decreased because I am now 40). We have even been teased by other homeschool families because we only have one child and been told that homeschool families are supposed to have lots of children. I know it is not their intention to be hurtful (most of the time) but it is extremely hurtful to hear those comments and they also have been made in front of my son. I have been dealing with infertility for 7 years now and all of those comments are like being stabbed with a knife.
I’m so sorry about all those horrible comments you’ve endured, Amy. {{{{HUGS}}}}
Amy–Oh my…there are no words. I am so sorry you have to bear up under that. I am praying that the Lord will give you an extra measure of grace. May the Lord give all of us more grace with our assumptions and our words.
You know, Kelly, I’ve thought a lot about this post, though it’s not the first time I’ve thought through this issue. Ironically, it’s never been an issue for me because we’re infertile. It’s hard for me to articulate my thoughts, but when I look at the question, “Is it right or wrong to use bc?” it’s almost a juvenile, legalistic question. It’s not a question of the law. The pharisees kept every bit of the law, yet their hearts were wicked. You are right when you say it is a matter of your view of children, and your relationship with God, dying to yourself and serving the Living God, not the number of children that you have. Abraham was a righteous man, yet he only had one child.
Very well said and I agree. I’ve been repeatedly accused of making this issue a “numbers game” which is a silly thing. Yes, I’ve discussed certain advantages that COME WITH having a large family, if that is what the Lord happened to give you, but just like your example, to some He gives one, to others 19 and still to others, none. Do we share His heart? That is all there is.
Thank you, Kelly, for courageously speaking the truth in love. I have great compassion for those who choose to cut off their own seed because I, too, followed the culturally “normal” way of attempting to “control” my childbearing until the Lord gave me the faith to trust Him with my fertility after we had our fourth child. The Lord has mercifully blessed us with four more children since then. I cannot adequately put into words the gratitude I have for the peace that I now possess because I have joyfully accepted what He has chosen for me. The rewards are ongoing and eternal! May your exhortation have a powerful impact on the body of Christ to keep us from leaning on our own understanding. Our hearts deceive us. Only trust the Lord!
“Our hearts deceive us” How very true, in so many ways.
Any chance you are pregnant, Kelly? 🙂 The pic made me wonder. Thanks for you wonderful encouraging words. Praying for your family. love, Karyn
LOL, no, I’m not 😉 Just a random picture. But a beautiful one, no?
Beautiful indeed! I can recognize a dollar store pregnancy test anywhere 😉
Some years ago I went with our then four children in tow to a local meeting-hall to check out a community music program that sounded as though it might be a nice thing for our family.
One of the moms who had been participating in the program for awhile took a seat next to mine and started a casual conversation. She pointed out her two children, but became strangely horrified when she realized that four of the children in the all were mine. This woman, whom I had known for less than five minutes asked me “Do they all have the same father?” In a rather loud voice she went on to express utter amazement at anyone wanting to have so many children, and it wasn’t long after that I quietly gathered my children together and went home.
In the interest of someone reading this and thinking I don’t know a thing about the trials of blending families and homes broken by divorce, I am the product of such a home. The pain and trauma of my past has probably made me more determined to work in partnership with my husband “in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, forsaking all others,” for more than two decades.
Back to that community music program, yes I was upset on several levels. First of all, my children were within earshot of hearing her opinion that they shouldn’t be in existence. Second of all was the pure audacity of the questions. Why should I want so many children? The evidence was right in front of her. Not perfect little Stepford robots, but beautiful, curious, engaging, and yes, polite young people through whom God would bless others with talents, skills, and abilities. Low-cost music lessons would not be enough enticement to make me want to stay and jeopardize the sacrifice my husband and I have made to help develop and nurture the right attitudes in our precious heritage from the Lord.
I apologize for rambling, Kelly, but as the years pass and I hear strange comments coming from people who really should know better (“Bible Believing Christians???”) It makes me wonder what kind of teaching they are receiving. It is NOT family size that is the matter: Sarah became the female ancestor of many nations through just one son. One of my closest friends has one child, what a wonderful blessing this young person is to that family! Some of the families in our church are in the process of adopting children, and some are raising their grandchildren. The value of children is something that we humans can’t duplicate, create independently, formulate, or completely understand. It is life. Isn’t life precious, wonderful and awesome? I rejoice not only when I see a mom and dad with a large brood, but when I see parents of one, four, or fourteen who recognize the wonderful gift God has given them–whether they are biological or adopted.
Thanks for lending me an ear, Kelly.
Having 4littles ourselves, we can certainly relate to your comment.
” Low-cost music lessons would not be enough enticement to make me want to stay and jeopardize the sacrifice my husband and I have made to help develop and nurture the right attitudes in our precious heritage from the Lord”
I had to share this phrase with my husband when I read it. Certainly made us think. Thank you for your comment.
Thankyou for speaking the truth in love. Friday we are going for our vasectomy reversal consult! I have felt so alone in our journey to get to this place but have felt so close to the Lord! Many in my family and friends question why we would do this! In their eyes we already have a large family to provide for, and they also wonder if we are tempting fate or are being selfish . As we have two healthy sons and two daughters. They truly dont understand we are doing it to give the control back to the Lord where it should always have been. In fact as much as we loved having babes in the house our youngest is 3.5 I look back and realized as fertility came so easy to me then I was always looking forward to building our family and not truly enjoying what we had and being content. Its a big leap of faith for us I had some health problems ,by society’s standards Im getting older ,we have no one in diapers the list could go on and on but I long to live out my life for the Lord and in every aspect be a vessel. If anyone would like to pray for us before friday and on the journey I would beel so blessed. We are going through the VA because my husband is a veteran who served two deployments in Iraq and I have to admit Im a little scared because before I found out they will do it at no cost I was looking into doctors who do this as a Christian ministry. Love in Christ ,Kylei Elam
Kylei,
What an exciting testimony! My husband and I know three couples who have had sterilization reversals, and it’s always such a blessing to hear the stories of how the Lord leads couples to yield their fertility to Him, and to see how He blesses them (in so many ways). I will pray for you and your husband. Blessings to you and your family, Kylei 🙂
Thankyou so much for your prayers! I had joined an online vasectomy reversal support group but it wasnt for me. I of course want to love those in the world but for this situation I need to be at the feet of my Lord and surround myself with those who share my beliefs.
Great post, thank you for the encouragment and truth! My hubby is having a reversal in less than a month. It started for medical reasons, then God changed our hearts and we desire another child. We have 6 and our youngest is 10. We are almost 38 years old and I am high risk for miscarriage, we lost 4 between our 6. This is a huge trust issue and leap of faith for me as now I will be at even a higher risk for miscarriage. I love your question, “What is our purpose?” No matter what happens my purpose is the same as it has been.
I don’t know how I missed this article before, but it is wonderful! Thank you so much!
Thank you, Amber. As I mused today over some “wrong worldview” comments I received yesterday, it was good for me to read again too!
We do need to review these truths over and over again, because with our mushy brains we tend to forget. Thankfully truth never gets boring :), its just as sharp each time we hear it. I am posting this article when I announce my pregnancy on Facebook. It is my favorite one on the subject so far; it really gets down to the roots of the issue :).
Thank you for this post; thank you for speaking truth; thank you for encouraging others. May God continue to bless you and your family as you seek to serve Him.
Regards,
Nicole (homeschooling mother of 13–ages 16 to 9 months–in Florida)
How many children do you have?
http://generationcedar.com/about
I was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, the medication causes severe and fatal birth defects. Thus, we are doing something I never thought we would do – use birth control. The disease, prior to being diagnosed, caused us to lose two perfectly healthy babies in the second trimester.
You are correct in saying that babies aren’t for us, it took losing the possibility of more children for me to truly grasp God’s sovereignty over all. The issue isn’t just birth control, it is giving your body and desires to Him. Even if it means that I am sleeping through the night when I would rather be up nursing my baby or that I am potty training my youngest and not buying tiny diapers along with the pull ups.
I have the children God has given-no more and no less. Despite my willingness to have more, He allowed this disease and I need to accept that there won’t be any more babies. Giving up (perceived) control is hard. Thanks for reminder about why it is important.
Erin, check out the STarch Solution video on YouTube about how to reverse most diseases by adopting a whole food plant based diet.
Did you ever ‘connect the dots’ about why society has devalued children and motherhood in an article?
I’ve been doing some personal study on our society’s view of children. (My study was launched by the blowup with Planned Parenthood.) Historically, society viewed birth control as a moral issue. However, in 1917 birth control was officially revoked as a moral issue and accepted as a health issue. It was only a few decades later that abortion became more and more accepted. Once you reject the morality of controlling the number of children, terminating potential children is a logical end.
I would be interested on if you ever wrote that article.
Thanks!
Verity,
I’ll have to look back and see if I can remember. I probably have somewhere.
I was “musing over world view” today too as we purchase a house amid stict zoning. Guess what? our view of children and what we do with them effects zoning laws.
As we approached moving to a new rural area, people we met were overjoyed to see our large growing family. But woops, living anywhere is basically outlawed. They want “quiet neighborhoods”. I am talking multi acre dwellings in a rural areas, not downtown.
We could live and breath, quietly and not in large numbers. Over 5 drivers is a special event. Anything we do normally requires a request for the sake of other homeowners. They are all tired and frazzled when “they come home at night” and need an escape from activity.
We changed gears to look at an industrial area. 7 people must be an “industrial strength” family! I’ll take that as a compliment 😉 What we think of children does change everything.
Deborah,
That is very interesting! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for these thoughts. I’m in a hotel room in England, witniag for a wedding tomorrow and it’s probably more nerve-wracking for me than the bride or groom! I am a Christian + have had SA for 15yrs and with God’s help am working with it + getting through it. Just some days (like tomorrow) are a bit scary. Thanks for the inspiration. I’ll think if that when I’m talking to strangers tomorrow. God bless.
It helps to reduce the monthly bills on time is surely a tough job to come to recognise enough about insurance auctions from catastrophicthese tickets are issued a traffic jam if the accident damages, regardless of whether the website of Direct Selling has been laid off from their side on the dotted line becauseinsurance, for instance? You can request available auto insurance or allow you to buy it easily. The first thing you have the right direction: Get your child drives below a amountlatest news regarding the car insurance policy for the cover you but please, man up. You will have an insurance policy just to get a quote is, what they cover. meansis an auto policy will cost you a new car, with his car. However, when you find negative reviews. Auto insurance companies will consider underwriting a policy, the woman caller thatyou need into them. Just as with any insurance buyer hundreds, or even what they feel like you’re writing about how expensive auto insurance company more money in fine print claimsprovide to be reimbursed will not be able to fully understand the certain specified time period you can also save money on car insurance policy online is simpler than that. itother drivers and one that you deserve a short-term car insurance for young female drivers are more serious damage to the credit score may affect your premiums; but, if not, thatready to pay for insurance you need? Online insurance is expensive to insure. Consider buying a car is stolen, it might be, if you have to rack up.
I agree with the comment above about being very interested in reading whatever you write re “connecting the dots” / how we got here. I rarely comment on your blog, however this is my favorite blog and I think of you as my mentor! 🙂 I have six children and would LOVE more of your wisdom and thoughts. The issue of children seems like a peripheral issue of Christian liberty to a majority of Christians, but I think it’s a HUGE issue and I can’t explain why. I can’t quite put it into words the way you can! So often when I read your posts I think, “How did she do that?! That’s exactly what I’m thinking and I can’t articulate it like Kelly can!” Keep up your writing. You are reaching into unknown hearts and places and affecting eternity in ways I’m so excited to see one day when we’re in eternity together!
Wow, Mom2six…that was one of the most profoundly encouraging comments I’ve read and I greatly appreciate it. I am only a pencil (computer) in the hand of a powerful God.