I notice things.

I pay attention to patterns, to people’s character, to common threads of virtue and godliness and things I want to emulate.

I’ve noticed a very common thread about women who I admire—those women who just exude joy and trust in the Lord, who I look at and think “I want to be like that” … “what a beautiful portrayal of Christlikeness and love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” …the women of whom I think “Wow the Spirit is really dwelling in them.”

The common theme that I’ve noticed they all have, apart from their contagious love for Christ, is their encouragement to trust God with family size. Each woman who has made such an imprint in my mind of what a woman after God’s heart looks like, they all have a tremendous heart for children, for serving their family, and for embracing the possibility of another baby if the Lord were to bless them with one.

Birth control is not an option for them.

This seems natural to me. Yet it flies in the face against what is taught and embraced in society. And it seems to be one of those areas where if we say what I am saying right now, we are quickly labeled a legalist and anger rises among those who think differently.

But can we discuss things without getting so offended? Especially good and beautiful things? Doesn’t God say children are a gift and a blessing? Doesn’t it seem more natural and inspired by the Spirit to be open to life, rather than resort to birth control? “Birth-control”… the name itself just doesn’t seem from God.

Now I am not saying these women I admire are beautiful and godly because they joyfully encourage trusting in God with one’s family size. It’s the opposite. I have been drawn to these women for their character—their love, joy, peace, trust in God, goodness toward their husbands, patience towards their children, hospitality toward friends and strangers, and all with such a gentle and loving spirit. Then I noticed that all these women have that shared belief, that birth control is not an option and that God can and should be trusted with every child He gives or withholds. It seems that this is the fruit of their beautiful submission to God. It’s not what makes them Christ-like, but it’s the result of walking so closely with Him.

And this is beautiful to me. This makes sense to me. As a Christian, birth control doesn’t make sense to me. And with the obvious spiritual war against children in society today, being pro-life seems more important than ever. Not merely saying we are, but living it out.

I agree with these lovely women of faith who I admire. Fertility is a gift to cherish, not something to medicate and suppress. We can trust God with our family size. And I would add that as Christians, we should also be more open to adoption. I can write abundantly more on this topic (and probably will in time), but for now I just want to mention it because it is another way we can help children in this society that is attacking them. And it is another theme I’ve picked up on among beautiful women of faith—many have adopted orphans and lovingly raised them as their own, portraying such a precious picture of what God has done for us.

But more on that later.

Children are a gift.

Birth control is not only unhealthy but is a refusal to embrace life.

I recognize goodness, truth, and beauty when I see it. Trusting God and submitting to Him in this area coincides with these three, and I’m thankful for the women who have pointed me to this truth. In all honesty, it’s something that has always seemed right to me and has been a belief I’ve always had hidden in my heart, but haven’t been vocal about since it’s the minority and unfortunately offensive view in our day.

But I want to trust God in all things—not least with each child He may like to give me. Every one He’s placed in my care so far has been nothing but a tremendous blessing, and I can’t imagine it being any other way with another one.

Is raising many children difficult? Sure. Does it take work? Of course. But life is difficult. And life requires work. We are going to encounter difficulty anyway. We are going to work anyway. The question is, what are we giving ourselves to? If we are avoiding children because raising them requires much of us, we probably need a heart check. If we are avoiding children because we’d rather give ourselves to more prestigious vocations that gain public recognition and applause, we probably need a heart check.

Raising children for the Kingdom of God, training them up to follow Christ and love Him with all their hearts, shooting arrows into the next generations who will desperately need the gospel—there is nothing more prestigious than this. It’s not what the world calls honorable, but we are not of the world. The world is killing children. Let’s give life to them.