Introduction

Through the pages of this book you will travel on 10 different journeys through the fertile years of 10 ordinary women. Women with the same hopes, weaknesses, fears, and challenges you have. While they have lived routine lives in average places under common circumstances, they have put their hopes in an extraordinary God: their own Creator Who also, incidentally, created the entire universe. This joyful surrender to that all-wise and sovereign Creator gives their lives a distinct twist, and a considerably adventuresome one at that.

Twenty years ago I knew very few large families, and the ones I did know were, for the most part, secretly looked down on by us normal folks. But we hit a wave somewhere along the way that carried us to the heights of a new discovery: God likes big families and even wants a lot of people to have them. Though our pastors were telling us that sterilization was the only way to really dig in and accomplish the Great Commission (kids tend to get in the way of the important work), the Spirit of God through His Word was saying the opposite. And some Christians started listening. I’m glad they did, and so are a lot of people who were born to those folks during the course of the last three decades – including grandbabies, some of whom are playing in their sandboxes as I write.

Yes, Christians started catching God’s vision, and because of that, it isn’t quite so uncommon to see a large family at the grocery store anymore. We can go to church now, and instead of being the odd man out, we are part of a family of God that includes families of all sizes. That’s a marvelous work of God. But it has introduced uncharted territory for the ones who have chosen to walk that counter-cultural path.

I remember having a conversation with a nurse when I was 35 years old and at the beginning of my fifth pregnancy. She looked at me sternly and chided, “Do you realize that if you don’t use birth control, you could have a baby every two years until you are FIFTY?!” I stared blankly at her, feeling like a 6 year old, unsure of how to respond to this visibly upset adult.

I managed a weak, “Really? Fifty? Doesn’t menopause hit before then?” She assured me that there were no guarantees if I were going to leave pregnancy “to chance.”

It was like being at the peak of a rollercoaster ride just before the cars start falling. I was scared and excited all at once. Scared because I wasn’t sure how my body would hold out (or my sanity, for that matter), and excited because it sounded like a bigger adventure than I had bargained for, and I knew it would take a Big God to get me to the other side.

Here I am, 11 years and four babies later, and it’s almost over. It’s been the ride of a lifetime, and I’m glad I stayed on board. I’m going to be sad when the cars round that final corner and come to a stop.

And I guess that’s why I wanted to put this book together.

Here I am, with a body that shows and feels the wear and tear of multiple pregnancies. Here I am, on the edge of saying goodbye to two red lines on a white stick, rolling movement inside a baby bump, lips pressed against a soft, downy head with that special baby scent, warm life drinking in warm life in the wee hours of the morning, and itty-bitty t-shirts. Here I am, looking around to see if anyone else with grey hair wishes they were pregnant – just one last time. Here I am, looking online to see if anyone is writing about this. Here I am. Feeling a bit odd. And alone.

Feeling the same? This book was written to let you know that you are not odd, and you are not alone. Part of a minority? Yes. But there’s no shame in that.  R.J. Rushdooney writes:

 “History has never been dominated by majorities, but only by dedicated minorities who stand unconditionally on their faith.”

God is writing history today, as always, and you play a small, but significant role.

This book was also written to that woman who stands wide-eyed in the line, waiting to board the rollercoaster cars, wondering if she is making a big mistake, or if she is in on the brink of fulfilling the purpose for which God created her. Is your life messy? Is your faith weak? Feel like a fool? If so, you are the perfect candidate for this adventure!

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29

What this book will not do is chart your course for you. This book isn’t going to tell you what to do with your own fertility. That’s God’s job. This is, very simply, a humble collection of testimonies to God’s faithfulness in the lives of 10 women. Some had five children. Some had a dozen. Some birthed at home in a tub of water, and some enjoyed epidurals in a hospital bed. Some spaced their children naturally, and some didn’t space at all. They all made mistakes. They all had human “issues.” They all stepped out into the unknown with fears and problems, not knowing how it would all turn out. Just hoping and trusting that if they let go – God would catch them.

 He did.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.Do not be conformed to this world,but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)

Natalie Klejwa

Editress of VisionaryWomanhood.com

June, 2013