Let the Blessings Flow

My Gratitude List

- sisters in pink hats

- sisters side by side in the mud

- a dent in weed pulling (many hours left)

- sunshine making the greens so brilliant

- six people at the dinner table

- whole wheat and flaxseed pancakes with mixed berries ( 5 to 1 ratio on the wheat and flax)

- a quiet house after a noisy day

- a yard with shade trees

- flowerbeds full of weeds, to give us something to do together ( together is my favorite thing, when it comes to my family...together is beautiful)

- sisters who kiss each other good morning and good night

- sisters who squeal and giggle at each other as they ride bikes, and trade bikes

- penny rides at the ice cream stop

- the eyes of a child, when you put an ice cream cone in his hands 

- a yard to delight my children (I never watch my children on the lawn without thinking about all the children raised in apartments..or worse.  My children are blessed.)

- my heavenly father, who gifted me with daughters when I was 40 and 42 years old  

I think most women will tell you that their unplanned babies brought very special blessings....which is why I say....let the babies come!  Say no to anyone else, but never to God.  He knows everything!  My girls are pure sunshine to me--brightening even the darkest days.  My boys are just as wonderful, of course--hopefully that truth is evident on this blog.  But somehow God knew that without daughters--these two daughters--our lives would be too heavy.  That's the only way I can describe it, when I think of life without them.  Heavy.  The various disorders we've got going on here contribute to that word heavy.  What do we really know about our coming years?  Nothing.  Only God knows. We can't afford to say no to Him, can we?  

As an aside:  Whenever I say something like this--I'm sure it annoys some out there--I don't mean to imply that a woman should discount everything a doctor has told her about her reproductive health.  I know a woman who nearly died from preeclampsia, twice (her two children are healthy).  Her doctor asked her not to get pregnant a third time, as it would be too dangerous.  Unless God gives a very clear message otherwise, I think we should listen to our doctors--really skilled, experienced doctors--unless they advise something akin to abortion.  

I don't understand infertility, in terms of why God would allow such a horror, when so many woman have plentiful babies.  Infertility really is a horror.  But I do know Him.  I trust Him.  It is so hard to do that.....to trust Him.  But we must.  He provides the tools, the giftedness, the wisdom, the grace, to carry out His design for our lives.  When we trust Him, blessings flow....our lives are all that He meant them to be, here on Earth.

If you're like me, and your husband has already decided you will have no more babies, submit to the decision in your heart. (Yes, it is so hard!) In your coming years, maybe God has orphans for you to adopt.....and a changed heart for your husband?  Or a family member's children to care for?  We just don't know, but I believe God honors our trust in Him.  And He is pleased when we respect our husbands, who are just trying to do their best.  Leadership is hard.