It's tempting, really, to keep receiving children into our fold, just because we can. But then, just because you could eat the whole cake, doesn't mean you should. The question is, "When does it stop?" Or perhaps a more accurate question, "When should it stop?"
We have a handful of friends who believe that G0D alone should answer that question. They have lots of kids, with no end in sight. Is that what all of us should do, in order to prove to G0D that we trust Him with every last shred of our lives?
Or, perhaps, dare I pose, that G0D invented the machine to work, and is it possible that the machine has an off-switch? Is it OK to use it?
Korrie once worded it very well, and in a way that rang true in my heart. She said something to the effect of, "Think of it like a garden. If you plant it, it will yield a crop. Yet, everyone knows there is a time to sow, a time to harvest, and a time to let the land rest. G0D could keep the seed from growing in the soil, true. He certainly could. But he has appointed us stewards, and stewards we must wisely be."Still there is another reason (for me) to keep having more kids. To put off the inevitable, and to pretend that time does not march on. The truth is, time will march on for that baby, too, and the next, and the next. At some point, I am going to have to face the fact that time is linear, and I must travel it. At the end of the line is arthritis and hearing loss and hemorrhoids, and then death (if not sooner). Having more babies can not change that.
When I look at my children, I will tell you what I see. I see, among many wonderful things, all that I can possibly handle.
So, barring a direct call from G0D (which, of course, trumps all), the time has come, I think, to let the land rest.
