August 30, 2006 4:20 PM
So long to family planning
It doesn't get much better than this. A comment on our latest discussion on big families from a regular reader:
okay, you all have me crying....(pregnancy hormones maybe?) God is so good...just this last year have i come to know this blog, have i bought a few books, have i begun changing myself, has my dh been really noticing and wondering, we've both taken on praying...just this last year our hearts have changed dramatically and (this is what makes me cry...) we're both on the "same page" to have a large family if that is God's will for us...i cry when i think back to where we were and who we were, i cry when i think of how God has changed and challenged us, i cry when i think that He isn't done yet!(is He good or what?!) and reading this...and to think, it could be me, blessed so fully? and came so close to it not being "our family"..at stopping at our two...*sniffs*..the change has been dramatic in our home, and it's all owed to God, using this site..using Barbara, using each of you who comment, as His tools...and yet little unworthy me gets the great benefits and blessings!! Because each of you has taken the time to share, my family is forever changed...thank you! to each of you, all of you..and God bless each of your families and little ones!
~Kristy
SAHM mom to Julia and Megan, a little turkey due on Thanksgiving day,and however many more God has preplanned for our family...
I also received an email a few days ago from a reader who's gone through the same awakening with her husband - that children are gifts we receive rather than financial burdens we choose - and is now expecting her third.
Maybe I should get a counter like the Fat Lady in the right sidebar where I'm keeping track of pounds - only this one will keep track of babies born because something we said at MommyLife got someone thinking.
But it's about more than just keeping score - it's about discovering all the joy God has in store for you when you get past the fear and worldly concerns that limit us and just surrender yet another area of your life to him. As I look at each of my children, I cannot imagine life without any one of them. Is there less love to go around because there are 12 of them? If anything I love each more because it is through them that I have learned how to love unconditionally.
I remembered this hymn today - which you can hear at Cyberhymnal. Click on the title to hear the tune.
When He cometh, when He cometh
To make up His jewels,
All His jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.Refrain
Like the stars of the morning,
His brightness adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown.He will gather, He will gather
The gems for His kingdom;
All the pure ones, all the bright ones,
His loved and His own.Refrain
Little children, little children,
Who love their Redeemer,
Are the jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.Refrain
This hymn really brings out the tenderness in me as it reminds me how important and precious each of my children is - and helps me to see them through God's eyes.
Posted in Big families, Fathers, Mothering, Pro-Life Issues | Permalink
Comments
Reading your website helped to get me thinking about what the Lord would have me do when it comes to my family. I paid more attention to what God was trying to tell me to do, asked my husband to do the same, and our first blessing will be coming in December.
I know that I have found my greatest happiness in submitting my will to His.
It's really not so far-fetched to think that we can really influence each other's lives, despite living in various places and experiencing different seasons of our lives. Thank you for that, Barbara.
Posted by: Emily | August 31, 2006 11:30 AM
This discussion this week also reminded me of the discussion of a few months ago that got me "hooked" on your blog: "Must every child be wanted?" It is an amazing journey of "faith" to let go of our own "control" of "our" fertility and accept from God whatever wonderful blessings He has planned for us!
Posted by: Tara | September 2, 2006 1:17 AM
This is a subject that is such a huge part of my life right now. I actually just wrote about it for the first time here.
After having three beautiful children and various health issues, my womb can no longer withstand child bearing. My husband took this as the Lord showing us that our family was complete. I, on the other hand, have seen it as the opportunity to grow our family through adoption. Even though I am sometimes consumed by the pain that I feel because I so desperately desire to adopt a child, I am following my husband fully in this matter. This has been a wonderful lesson for me in submitting to my husband and his authority. I am thankful, that in return, my husband is making sure to comfort me, not by giving in to my desires, but by making it clear that he is seeking the Lord's guidance in what to do.
So, that leaves me praying that I will follow my husband, that my husband will follow the Lord, and that the Lord's will be done.
Posted by: Nicki | September 3, 2006 1:00 AM
