Contraception

I was at that point after the birth of my first child that the subject of contraception came up.  We looked at all the options; two of which were the depo-provera shot and the mini pill.

Somehow I was not comfortable with any of the choices, but not knowing what else to do and not hearing clearly from the Lord, we opted for the mini pill.

I continued to seek the Lord about this question and asked Him to be very clear in His leading.  Was contraception godly?  Did God really want me trust Him in this area?  That was a new idea.  This would mean a big step of faith for my husband and I.

During the seven years of our marriage before children we thought nothing of using birth control.  Now, something inside told me I had to do something different, something that put my trust in God and not in man’s device.

I kept forgetting to take the mini pill, which allows no deviance from the prescribed regimen.  My answer soon came in the form of a poem printed in Ruth Olson’s Gentle Doves Christian Magazine.

 

While waiting as a mother-to-be,

I heard God firmly speak to me.

To cast aside the worlds’ device and

Become a living sacrifice.

Namely, that my womb should bear

The ones He planned to cradle there

And that no humanistic creed

Should limit my fertility.

Oh, how I wrestled with that word –

So unusual, so absurd!  Could God?

Would God take control?

And what would His requirement hold.

After much debate and doubt

I threw my own decisions out;

If God can measure earth and sea,

Can He not chart a family?

And if He names and numbers stars,

Then in His book is each of ours.

We therefore gave Him the right

To build the house and take the charge.

A mother now with five on hand

By faith and grace I have no plan,

But cast aside the things that kill

To let his number be fulfilled.

-author unknown

This was the answer so clearly expressed and I recognized it instantly as the plan God had for us.  We have two children now, spaced 29 months apart.

We do not know how many He will give to us, but we are ready to welcome them and it is so much easier to put the burden on Him and not to even give a thought to contraception anymore.

We have discovered that God can be trusted with all the big and little things in life, and He does a good job too!

Renee Pouchak

St. Anthony, MN, USA