ALL THESE CHILDREN IN OUR LARGE FAMILY
is part of the Write 31 2017 Challenge.
Read 31 Days of Life in a Large Homeschooling Family for more posts.
* * * * * * * * *
I guess one could say that choosing to let God plan one’s family size can be viewed either as an act of faith or sheer stupidity. I choose “act of faith”, thankyouverymuch.
I can’t even start to guess the number of times we have had to field comments such as, “Have you always wanted a large family?” and the one that makes Henson and I laugh most, “You must love children very much!”
Why so many children?
I thought it would be nice to start wrapping up the 31 Days in a Large Homeschooling Family series with a link back to an old post I wrote back in 2006 titled Why So Many Children?
After all, without all these children, I wouldn’t have this series to write! Lol!
Here is an excerpt…
I have no idea why other people choose to have a large family. I can only speak for our own family. And it is not because Henson and I absolutely adore babies. Nor am I in any way the maternal sort. In fact, I never wanted children. So how did we end up with 7 children in slightly less than 11 years?
There are 2 main reasons :
1. Children are God’s rewards
Children are little blessings that the Lord sends down to us. We almost never say no to being rewarded with a fatter bank account or a bigger house or a bigger car. But how many times have you seen people shrink back in horror (mock or otherwise) when you ask them if they would like to have more children?
… society says they are a liability…society also celebrates barrenness….
2. God is the one who opens and closes wombs
For me, there was only one reason why I was saying no – self-centredness and selfishness. Having more than two children would inconvenience me even more than what I was already dealing with.
Children are hard work. Having more babies meant that I would have to postpone many of my dreams. The more children we have, the longer I have to postpone those dreams.
Read more at Why So Many Children?
Trust God
If you are hesitating about having another child, I pray that reading Why So Many Children will challenge you to trust God. As He gives, He also provides.
All these children
Having all these children have taught me many things.
God has used them and continues to use them to mould me, to bring up issues that I have tried to ignore in order to prune me so that I can be changed more and more into His likeness. It has been challenging to mother these blessings He has given. But He has used them to bring much richness into my life.
Life would be so different (and quiet!) without all these children. But I wouldn’t exchange it for any other.
Related Posts
Letting Go and Trusting God When You Have a Large Family
What Faith Looks Like in Our Large Family