Why so Many?

People often wonder, why such a large family? I have to say it goes all the way back to when we first got married. I had decided I wanted six children and thought it was as clearcut as that! My first labour was extremely painful and 17 hours of it were spent at home. Dd was in the wrong position, she was back to back, which caused me excruciating pain. I remember saying to my husband, "Do you mind if we don't have anymore?" Ha, ha, famous last words. Having looked into the various birthcontrols I could see they were not God honouring and I didn't even know that the birth control pill murders babies. I felt I was being led to trust God and we both shared that belief. Sadly there seemed to be no one around at the time who shared that and we were very much frowned upon and mainly through other Christians.
I am happy to say that the 2nd and 3rd births were easy compared to the first and before we knew it we had three children under two and a half! They were tough days, but I think that the first few children are the most difficult. There are many reaons for this, one of the main ones being that there are no older children, or teenagers. Believe me, if you are on your first four, it will get easier! You also learn more about the best way to do things. I started off putting the babes in a cot, now I feel they are best served with us in our bed. I get more sleep that way!
So, we have followed God's leading and have been blessed. It has not always been easy and we have suffered many persecutions because of it, but I can say that the Lord has worked all things for good and we have been mightily blessed.
Don't worry if you are facing opposition from family, it is not the end of the world. Our family opposition was extreme, but I have known that some people's families have been won over.
We have nine children to date, the youngest is almost two and the oldest is fifteen. I would love to have lots more if that is the Lord's will.