A Nine-Month Ramble

If that was too oblique for some of you, here's another picture, this one captioned, "Now I don't have to feel guilty when I park here." Because I did. Park there. And feel guilty. (Though, if interpreting the sign literally, I was an expectant mother because I expected to someday be pregnant and I'm a mother. Shabby justification, but it worked.)



John and I believe that God's will is perfect in our lives, though not always easy or understood, no less so in the matter of children than in the areas of financial gain, job opportunities, illness, or the like. Most of you know this. Because we have never used a form of contraception to manipulate when He might or might not give us a new child, it's easy to assume that those children are always imminent. When John and I were first married, I had a few friends who were adamantly opposed to our decision, calling it irresponsible, foolish, and just plain stupid. As evangelical Christians in the West, they ignored not only the Biblical support for doing so but also the simple fact that the Christian Church--Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant-- had been united in opposition to birth control until Ms. Sanger and contemporaries entered the scene in the early part of the twentieth century. This is a strikingly recent phenomenon in the long history of the church, which most seem to have forgotten or view as irrelevant.  (I write this not to debate or poke but only for those who are baffled by the reason for this choice.)

You know what, though? Just as God can display His presence as Almighty Creator by giving a child to a couple who does practice contraception, He can display that same presence by not giving children to couples who don't. Susannah's twenty months old now, and after a likely early miscarriage, I am now pregnant. A space of twenty-nine months between children is often considered an "ideal" spacing for those who plan pregnancy as much as one can plan, and yet God, in His perfect will, has given us our baby now, rather than months ago when we expected him or her. He could have chosen to not give us another baby at all, and with His help, we would have learned to accept that, also, as a gift from Him.

There is no room for smugness or self-righteousness. We don't deserve children simply because we are open to them, and we shouldn't ever feel we are entitled to the gift of children because of it.  They are not a reward for good behavior nor is their lack a sign of disfavor.  Though not deserving, we do rejoice that He has given another! We pray that this little one grows strong and big (but not too big) until it's time to meet in the Great Wide World.

We have a new baby! Give us a handshake!