1 of 7
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." — 2 Corinthians 12:9
I'll say it again: Like most little girls, I had dreamed of the day when I would meet my husband, have children, and settle down to live a happily-ever-after kind of life. Over the past several years, those heartfelt yearnings of my childhood have felt like an eight-fold love note from the Lord tucked in the depths of my soul. He knew my heart, and every good and perfect gift came from Him. I often dug down deep, took out that well-worn promise, and soaked in the goodness of it all. At other times however, that same love note seemed to have been torn in pieces and scattered in the wind, leaving me reeling, sapped of all my strength and vigor while the scraps of what once was my life rained down around me.
Having twins and then sextuplets was never in my childhood dreams; and yet that is the destiny God has chosen for me. Meeting Jon, getting married, and having the girls seemed to fit perfectly with what I had imagined. The "happily-ever-after part" seemed to be lost forever in a sea of six little blips on an ultrasound screen. In time, however, devastation, fear, and anger turned to resignation, acknowledgment, and acceptance. I wanted more than acceptance, though. I knew accepting the fate I had been dealt was just the first step. I wanted to not only survive my calling; I wanted to rise up, grasp it with both hands, and thrive in my calling as Jon's wife and the mother of all eight of our children.
The only way to do that was to pay close attention to the lessons God was teaching me. While I could possibly list a hundred such lessons, I will, in honor of our six life-changing miracles, limit my list to just the following six:
1. God is in controlSince the moment Jon and I discovered I was pregnant with sextuplets, we could maintain our sanity only because we knew that God is in control. One of my favorite Scriptures is Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." At first, I found the "all things" part a little hard to believe. I wanted to ask God if he was sure He didn't mean "most things." As much as I wanted to believe Him, I continually ran down my list of "buts" for God, just in case He had forgotten. "But God," I would begin, "what about what the doctors said? That the chances of my babies all surviving are minuscule? That I could possibly die? What about the fact that you have only given me two hands, Lord, to care for six babies? And we have a small house, remember, Lord. Oh, and Jon has no job, Lord. How will we provide for our children?" My rantings went on and on until finally I knew I needed to turn my whining and questioning completely inside out. In spite of all the grim statistics and the mental, physical, and logistical challenges, I learned that when "but God" popped into my mind, that instead of falling into the pit of doubt and despair, I needed to attach a new ending to my thought: But God ... is in control—and that meant that He would indeed work together all things for my good!
 E-mail this page   Print this article  Post a comment |
