Full house

I took the crib apart today.  Maggie learned to climb out a couple of months ago and it has basically been collecting dust as she often falls asleep with her sister (and then ends up in our bed.)

It felt like the end of an era, but then is it really?

Will God grace us with the gift of raising another human here on earth, or is our full house really full?

A few months ago I wrote a note in my phone that said, “I was just reflecting on what an awesome mystery the number of children our family will contain is.”

Isn’t that the truth?  I truly couldn’t have fathomed God giving us five children (and would have maybe ran away if you told me that in my early twenties) but I’m so glad He did.

One night this summer the kids and I were playing Yahtzee and I kid you not on the first round every single one of us landed a full house.  Even after that we rolled full house after full house until we were all giggling.  It felt like it had prophetic significance, and I’ve oft wondered if it was a nudge that these 3 boys and 2 gals are indeed our full house.

About that same time we were chatting about winning money, and Theo out of the blue said, “It’s like we already hit the lottery, there were millions of eggs that could have been fertilized but ours was chosen.”

What a beautiful blessing and gift these kids are to us.  Out of the millions of eggs that could have been fertilized, theirs were chosen by a divine Creator who knew they were just who our family needed.

My goodness, it has been challenge after challenge with our kids the past few weeks.  It is not all rosy, and sometimes I look at them and wonder if I have any qualifications at all to guide them closer to Jesus and adulthood. But God chose them, out of all the possibilities, to come live on this earth under my care.

Even when they cut their baby sister’s hair into a pixie cut (yes, that was today), or lie to me, or huff and puff instead of being obedient they are mine, and I am theirs.

My children have gifted me life.  They’ve taught me more than any manual or book or lesson ever could.  They are the real world apprenticeship I needed to kick my butt into gear and start living beyond myself.

So, if God gives us another, or if he doesn’t, I’m glad they have raised me as much as I’ve raised them.