"Are you done yet?" Several people have asked me that since my second child--a precious little sister for my darling son--was born. Now we have the "perfect" modern family, they tell me--one boy and one girl. But my husband and I are praying that God will bless us with more children. As a matter or fact, we've decided to give God complete control of our family planning.

I think we came to this conclusion in an unusual way. Shortly after we were married, I developed a strong case of "baby fever," but my husband was determined to wait several years until we were better established before having children. At the time we were both working, and we had no savings and no home of our own. Although we were both believers, we were living more by the world's standards than by God's.

The birth control that I was using was causing me health problems, so I halfheartedly began to do research on other methods. That's when I came across several books that introduced me to the idea of leaving birth control in God's hands. I read them and showed them to my husband. I admit my selfish nature hoped that he would read the books and agree to throw the birth control out the window so I could hurry and get pregnant. I was more concerned with getting what I wanted than following God's will or my husband's. Praise God, He had a plan for us and our marriage that I couldn't have imagined back then.

My darling husband did read the books I showed him and was convicted. After a lot of prayer, he decided that we would trust God fully with the number and spacing of our children. I was thrilled and started counting down the days until I'd be holding a baby in my arms. But that wasn't God's plan. He'd done some work on my husband's heart, and now He had some work to do on mine.

It was three long years before I finally had a baby on the way. During that time, I saw doctors and took fertility drugs. My husband was content to wait on the Lord's timing, but I was so impaitient that I nearly drove us both crazy. Finally, with the drugs making me sick and my marriage near a breaking point from the stress, I fell to my knees and cried out to God. Isn't it funny how we sometimes have to fall apart so that God can build us back up? I promised God that I would truly stop trying to take control from Him and would throw out the drugs. It felt like I was resigning myself to the idea of never having a baby, but God is so good! He comforted me, and by the next month I was expecting our beautiful son.

Since that time, we've been called to explain our position time and time again. Most people, including some in our family and in our church, think we're a little crazy. And when I discovered I was expecting my precious little girl, I wondered myself how I'd handle a toddler and a newborn. But God has used our faith in this area to bless us and increase our faith in other areas. He's blessed us with two beautiful children and a home of our own. He's made it possible for me to be a stay-at-home wife and mother. He's grown us both as Christians, spouses, and parents. We don't argue anymore about how many children we should have or when we should have them. We know God is in control.

So when someone asks me, "Are you done yet?" I can honestly smile and say, "I hope not."


The Lily by Frank W.W. Topham

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