Children Are a Blessing Not a Curse

Children Are A Blessing – Not A Curse

          “Have you figured out what causes that?” “Are you finished yet?” “Are they all yours?” “Same mother?” “Same father?” These and many other comments have been heard by probably every father and mother of a large family. The comments range from mere curiosity, to attempts at humor, to downright indignation by those who feel they need to know why anyone would want to have multiple children.

          My wife Barb and I have been blessed with 9 children ranging from 33 to 13 years of age. We have 5 girls and 4 boys, so we’ve seen a little bit of everything over the years. Each one is unique with different talents and personalities and I can’t imagine life without any one of them. But we had a decision to make several years ago that could have caused 5 souls to never be created.

          After Barb had just delivered our fourth child and first daughter in 1993, she was having a Cone biopsy when her doctor became concerned about some abnormal cells that could lead to cancer. Her doctor asked me if we were open to Barb having a hysterectomy which was the normal protocol at that time. She said that by doing so it would prevent the possibility of those cells becoming cancerous, but it also meant that we could not have any more children.

          Barb and I agreed that we would trust in God and be open to having more children if that was His Will. The thought of Barb developing cancer was certainly on our minds, but we accepted this challenge as a test of our faith. The cancer never developed and as I mentioned earlier, we were blessed with five more wonderful children.

          Now I know that other couples facing a similar situation may come to a different decision based on the circumstances in their lives. I’m not judging anyone for a decision that they make. My reason for sharing our story is that it’s possible and desirable to be open to life and more children in spite of any challenges a couple might face. We’ve had the pleasure of watching our nine children grow up and the countless experiences along the way. I admit it has been a challenge, both time-wise and financially, to raise nine children and to send them to Catholic schools. But to see each one of them grow to become loving and compassionate individuals is worth more than anything we could ever imagine. So to all inquiring minds – yes, they’re all our children and we thank God each and every day for them!