That is the comment I received today on our walk home (walking quiet nicely and quietly, I might add :)) from visiting with a friend. Many people have asked me, "Are these all yours?", but I think it was the first time I have ever had someone speak in such a way that they were hoping they WERE NOT all mine. I am sure there are many who have thought that in their heads but have just not been willing to verbalize it. This time, someone did...and, I have to be honest, I walked away feeling sick to my stomach but also thankful that none of my children seemed to grasp the reality of what the gal said.
I don't hold it against her...and I don't even judge her for it. It's the culture we live in and that our kids are growing up in, it's what our minds are being fed day in and day out. If it were not for the Word of God and His grace at work in my life, I too, might have echoed those words to a family larger than what I thought made sense...to a family that did not fit the typical mold.
I still sit here feeling a little sick to my stomach, wishing every person who has ever echoed those words or thought them in their heads could spend the day with us and see what a blessing it is to be a parent to all 6 of our kids, to experience to delight of hearing giggles, the precious hugs that I get for no reason at all and the awesome,beautiful responsibility it is to see 12 eyes staring up at you, listening to you and learning from you. It made me think of a couple of lines from a puritan in "The Valley of Vision" prayer book:
"...Sanctify and prosper my domestic devotion,
instruction, discipline, example,
that my house may be a nursery for heaven..."
A nursery for Heaven...those words are precious to my heart! And not only do they ease the sick feeling in my stomach but they place in me a sweet hope and the reminder of the precious calling it is to be a mommy! That God is using me, nothing more than a jar of clay, to share His truth with these 6 little ones and train them up in the way they should go! And, as I reflect on that beautiful calling, my heart cannot help but cry out, "Fill up our nursery even more.Lord!".
Comments
I LOVE the quote at the bottom... I'm gonna steal that one!
Isn't is awesome when God uses a situation like that to reaffirm your calling and bring you closer to Him!
I personally love seeing and being around large families and I know that your all 6 of your kids are blessed to have a mom like you!
When you don't know Jesus, you don't have joy, so having children actually steals joy away from some people because they have to focus on someone other than themselves now.
I loved what Michelle shared...People think it being unfair to have more than 3 or 4 kids because it's "not fair" to each child...Sadly, that kind of talk is out of ignorance and people who need to feel justified for their own decisions whatever that may look like.
God, keep us humble, but also help us to be a testimony of the joy it is to train and raise families for your glory....And pray for those who need to see the richness and joys of children in the home!!
But I'm so proud of you and your faithfulness to God! May He continue to richly bless you!!! :)