Behold, I shall send children upon the land.
My wife has been talking about contraception with some of her friends from church. She thought she would lose them as friends simply because she pointed out that the Pill can work after conception - the birth control pill can be a form of abortion.
The assumption is that children need to be warded off, like vampires. I understand that many mothers pay for their daughter’s first prescription of birth control pills (at least, I hope it’s the first one - maybe not) as a wedding present.
Our childbirth instructor recommended a great book, an intelligent book, a thoughtful book, a funny book, about our attitude toward children, called Full Quiver by Rick and Jan Hess. They include chapters on how large families can affect elections (eventually), how many world-changing people were not the first or second born (sorry, no Beethoven for you), and what the Bible says about where babies come from.
I realized that most American couples must think that God told Charlton Heston, “Lo, because you have rebelled against me, behold, I shall send children upon the land!” But he didn’t. He said the opposite.
Amy’s Humble Musings reminds us that children are not obstacles, not even to the simple life we want.
July 26th, 2007 at 8:33 am
One thing that bothers me about the way birthcontrol is viewed, is the double standard. “Freedom of choice” is the cry, but when women like me decide to have many children (I have 7), we are treated like we should NOT have that choice.