What nobody told me is how much time I would spend on discipline and training the hearts of these children. They are just at the beginning of learning what it means to be a Christian. They are learning the hard lessons of kindness and selflessness each day in this home. When they argue and fight, asserting their position and "rights" it can get ugly. And so I spend a lot of time talking. Talking about what the Bible says about how we must treat eachother. Talking about whether or not their words or actions towards a sibling were glorifying to God. That is what is most exhausting. All. the. talking. So if there was one thing I'd like to tell a future or new mother it would be to recognize and prepare for the work of character training. It isn't automatic. It takes much prayer, dedication to reading scripture and talking about it with the children. And so, when people discourage you from having many children, don't think about the diapers and the lack of sleep, the laundry and the cooking and the activities that make you busy. Those things are manageable. Think about the spiritual training and as you grow that baby, pray! Pray for wisdom and for the Spirit to guide you in the wonderful, weighty task of raising your children for the Lord.
I always wanted to have a big family. I used to think 5 children would make for a big
family. Then I had 5 and decided it wasn't really that many. Now I don't even feel like 7 is that many. Most of the time. I'll even look around sometimes, sure that someone is missing, and see that everyone is present and accounted for. When I talked about having a lot of children people would make comments about how much work it is, but they were referring to the physical labor. The diapers. The sleep deprivation. The laundry. The cooking. The dishes. And then they'd talk about how expensive it is. True, we spend a lot on groceries. As for the physical work, around here, everyone helps and they know that is just how it has to be. Of course we had the years with many littles that were exhausting in a deeply physical way. But now the kids do their own laundry, have daily chores, and clean the house on Saturday. All of those things are easily managed. What nobody told me is how much time I would spend on discipline and training the hearts of these children. They are just at the beginning of learning what it means to be a Christian. They are learning the hard lessons of kindness and selflessness each day in this home. When they argue and fight, asserting their position and "rights" it can get ugly. And so I spend a lot of time talking. Talking about what the Bible says about how we must treat eachother. Talking about whether or not their words or actions towards a sibling were glorifying to God. That is what is most exhausting. All. the. talking. So if there was one thing I'd like to tell a future or new mother it would be to recognize and prepare for the work of character training. It isn't automatic. It takes much prayer, dedication to reading scripture and talking about it with the children. And so, when people discourage you from having many children, don't think about the diapers and the lack of sleep, the laundry and the cooking and the activities that make you busy. Those things are manageable. Think about the spiritual training and as you grow that baby, pray! Pray for wisdom and for the Spirit to guide you in the wonderful, weighty task of raising your children for the Lord.
1 Comment
Chandra
3/11/2014 06:11:46 am
Amen. You are exactly right. You have the primary influence over an eternal soul that you have helped bring into the world and to do that well takes an enormous amount of spiritual work. It's pastoral work, in one sense, that of shepherding hearts.
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December 2017
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