Sharing the Special Announcement...When Other's Don't Celebrate
"When
we announced that we were expecting baby #1 the news was celebrated by
everyone we knew. And then again with baby #2. But there was a
noticeable decline with babies #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7 (except from some
family members, and a few close friends who also had large families).
When we announced our first babies people would light up with a smile
and a hug and congratulate us! Then for baby #3 their faces would go
blank and they would say, "You're crazy", or "On purpose?" Not the most
encouraging. They would question our judgement by saying things like,
"You're going to move then right?" "You're going to buy a new car then
aren't you?" In the United States at least, two children is considered
"normal" and doable from pop culture's opinion. But more than that?
Not so much.
Most people are very un/mis-informed about large
families ~ bur really, without seeking out the truth, how would they
know it? So many parents are quick to believe the scare tactics that
are so prominent, trying to manipulate couple's decisions to limit their
family size. A good friend once pointed out that getting one's tubes
tied is the only surgery that hospitals' push on otherwise healthy women
while they will be in for another procedure. That surgery is not to
get "fixed"; it's getting "broken". Its kind of like if you took your
car to the oil change place and they offered to break the
air-conditioning for you while you were there. People are told that
more than 2 children would over populate the earth, cost too much money,
increase their "risk" for an "unhealthy" baby, would be an
irresponsible choice... or would require too much self-sacrifice for
their comfort. But that is looking at things from a limited human
perspective, rather than from a divine, God-planned perspective....
Here's what I have to share:
- My thoughts and answers to the above questions
- Some recommended responses to people's comments
- Some things you can do to receive a more positive response from others
- Some recommended resources to build our knowledge and therefore our confidence
- Some things we do to feel connected
- An opportunity to testify to the Lord's provision..."
No comments:
Post a Comment