Children are a reward

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."
Psalm 127:3-5

Often, when I tell people that I have ten children, they look shocked and say, "Ten?! Wow...bless your heart. I have two and I can't even handle them." As I have said before, I only 'handle' having ten kids with God's strength flowing through me. Because of this reaction, it is tempting for me to sometimes think I am doing God a favor by adopting the children He has laid on our hearts.

The other day when I was reading my Bible, it hit me in a new way that God considers children a blessing straight from His arms to ours. I think most people would go along with that--as long as they get to decide how many times God can bless them.

In our culture we tend to think of children as being:

needy
high maintenance
a financial drain
an emotional and energy drain

But God says they are:
a heritage from Him (ie: a gift of great value)

a reward

I don't know about you but when I am cleaning up endless messes, changing diapers, and other 'menial' tasks, I'm not always focused on how these little people are a reward. A REWARD.

I sat and thought about that for awhile. If I truly believe that they are a reward, and a special gift, how would I respond if God asked me to adopt again? Honestly...I would probably groan. I adore my kids, but I'm thinkin' it's someone else's turn to go to China.

I read the next verse...'Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.' What is a quiver? It's a sheath for holding the arrows. Over the years I have heard many arguments over how many arrows are supposed to be in a quiver--and I truly don't know how many there should be. But if you were in a battle--wouldn't it be good to have um...a lot? Like have that honker STUFFED with arrows? (OK--if my husband is reading this right now, he is probably having a stroke!) It's pointless to try to figure out how many arrows are supposed to be in a quiver. I think the point that God was trying to make was that just like a warrior would try to take as many arrows as possible into battle, the more children you have, the more blessed you are.

The rewards may be in the gift of giggles and laughter that rings through the house. The soft hand that reaches for yours. That surprise hug from behind that makes you fall over because you were hunched over and not expecting it. The spontaneous, "I lub you, Mama." How many times have I been having a bad day and my kids did something hysterically funny that suddenly lightened the moment? Or the times I have been sick and they led me to the couch, told me to lie down and tucked me in with their blankies?

Is there anything else that I would rather be doing with my life? Despite having big dreams of other things, I can honestly say that those dreams pale in comparison to walking the path that God has laid out for our family. I'm not doing HIM a favor. He's doing ME a favor. God always gives us His best. My kids are proof of that.

"Wook, Mom. When we wick ouw vitamin it stickths to ouw fathe."
Translation: When we lick our vitamin, it sticks to our face."