So I'll Get To the Olives Next Time

If you're reading my blog you may be wondering, who is this woman and why is she asking for olives? And what do olives have to do with a house full of kids, anyway?


I'm going to try to keep a long story short (which would work better if I left out useless prattle about keeping a long story short). Anyway, the story begins shortly after my second child was born. I was a stay-at-home mom with a two year old and a newborn and boy was I overwhelmed! With mountains of laundry, dishes piled high in the sink, and a kiddo in each arm, I couldn't imagine ever having more kids. So I did what I thought I was supposed to do and began taking the birth control pill.

At this time in my life, I was a Christian--a basic, run-of-the-mill Protestant who wasn't too radical in beliefs or actions. So taking the pill was nothing extraordinary and it was something I had done in the past without a second thought. This time, though, it would be different.

Shortly before starting the pill, I started having nagging thoughts about contraception. Was it Biblical? Was one kind more moral than another? After praying, polling all of my friends, talking to my husband, reading the Bible, and researching vigorously on the Internet, I came to the conclusion that God was trying to tell me something. Specifically, He didn't want me taking the pill. Sounds simple enough, right? I mean, if God speaks, you listen. Right?

Right?

Okay, so most people would have listened. I, on the other hand, began running scared. I ignored the nudging, quit reading on the topic, and stopped discussing it with my friends. And I started taking the pill. I kept taking it for two years until I decided that I was ready for more children.

By this time I had managed to put out of my mind the fact that I had disobeyed God for the last 24 months. And, silly me, I expected to conceive immediately after stopping the pill. After all, my first two children were conceived immediately. Why would this time be any different?

I'm going to stop at this point in the story but I'll pick back up here tomorrow. And I promise to tell you all about the olives. :-)