I remember talking with our pastor when we were in pre-marriage counseling. The Big Day was only a month or so off, and we were getting to the important stuff: who would manage the finances, how we would resolve conflicts, how many kids we would have...
We did really well till we hit that last one. If there had been a sound track playing sweetly in the background, it would have stopped at that question. We never fought about it or anything, but we certainly weren't as unified as we'd been up till that point.
Papa Bear wanted a big ole litter of cubs. This maybe-one-day-in-the-future-I'll-be-a-momma gal thought one or two was plenty. He said, "Maybe three?" with that irresistible grin of his (and oh, have I learned to watch out for that grin -- I'm a sucker for it even now!). And I said, "No." Years of experience with youth and children had taught me that three was my least favorite number of siblings. Because there was always that middle kid. And you could pick them up out of a crowd every time. No way did I want a middle child. And back then I knew everything, so there was no telling me otherwise.
{Dear Readers: If you are the middle child, or if you have three children, please forgive my harsh 20-year old self ... this was just how I felt back then, and I'm over it now ... but to share the story, I need to tell the facts}
I smartly informed by husband-to-be that I would not be bearing an odd number of children. Once we had three kids, he may as well adjust to the idea of a fourth. I told him I was fond of nice, round, even numbers. In my mind, that ended things and limited us to my already approved number of two -- because really, who in their right minds saw me as the mother to four?!?! HAH. That was the last time I thought of that irresistible grin as harmless. It's a force of nature in my life.
Ten years of marriage later, I was expecting our third child. Older, wiser, and more tempered, I had no intention of mentioning a fourth. Ever. But as I shared yesterday, God had a plan. A time. And it wasn't the same as mine.
I'm so glad His ways aren't my ways. They are SO MUCH BETTER!
Here I am today less than a week away from leaving to meet our fifth and sixth children and bring them home. I am so excited!!! After all, six is a nice, round, even number. And, if you recall, I'm quite fond of those. I've given up planning my own future, and I'm trusting God to lay out one for us that is better than we could ever dream up.
So today is six days till we leave and have six kids. WOW. If you want to help us get there, you can do that HERE.
Papa Bear wanted a big ole litter of cubs. This maybe-one-day-in-the-future-I'll-be-a-momma gal thought one or two was plenty. He said, "Maybe three?" with that irresistible grin of his (and oh, have I learned to watch out for that grin -- I'm a sucker for it even now!). And I said, "No." Years of experience with youth and children had taught me that three was my least favorite number of siblings. Because there was always that middle kid. And you could pick them up out of a crowd every time. No way did I want a middle child. And back then I knew everything, so there was no telling me otherwise.
{Dear Readers: If you are the middle child, or if you have three children, please forgive my harsh 20-year old self ... this was just how I felt back then, and I'm over it now ... but to share the story, I need to tell the facts}
I smartly informed by husband-to-be that I would not be bearing an odd number of children. Once we had three kids, he may as well adjust to the idea of a fourth. I told him I was fond of nice, round, even numbers. In my mind, that ended things and limited us to my already approved number of two -- because really, who in their right minds saw me as the mother to four?!?! HAH. That was the last time I thought of that irresistible grin as harmless. It's a force of nature in my life.
Ten years of marriage later, I was expecting our third child. Older, wiser, and more tempered, I had no intention of mentioning a fourth. Ever. But as I shared yesterday, God had a plan. A time. And it wasn't the same as mine.
I'm so glad His ways aren't my ways. They are SO MUCH BETTER!
Here I am today less than a week away from leaving to meet our fifth and sixth children and bring them home. I am so excited!!! After all, six is a nice, round, even number. And, if you recall, I'm quite fond of those. I've given up planning my own future, and I'm trusting God to lay out one for us that is better than we could ever dream up.
So today is six days till we leave and have six kids. WOW. If you want to help us get there, you can do that HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment