30 August 2009

The cumulative burgeoning of un-ignorant bliss

When we first started down Pill-is-Evil Avenue, and then again when that road unexpectedly routed us down CSPP Way, I’d have bouts of nostalgia for the blissful ignorance of my former pill-popping self. Life with a few carefully planned children seemed a lot more manageable, to say nothing of more, well, fun, than a future filled with a potentially terrifying number of children, like an infinite nightmarish procession of those Russian nesting dolls.

Aieeeee.....Am I twitching?!?

That ignorance was of course only blissful in selfish, self-pitying restrospect. I’m getting braver. (Some days.) The longer I walk, trudge, skip, stumble, dance, and just plain doggedly follow this road, the more I begin to understand a few basic things. Like: A carefully planned future is a big, dangerous joke. Also: There’s really no such thing as a “manageable” number of children. Whether she holds one or two or ten children, a mother’s hands are full.

A.W. Tozer on that blissful ignorance thing: “For myself, I long ago decided that I would rather know the truth than be happy in ignorance. If I cannot have both truth and happiness, give me truth. We’ll have a long time to be happy in heaven” (Man: The Dwelling Place of God).

Turns out that truth and happiness aren’t conflicting absolutes, after all. Not even (at least not always) in this present vale of tears.

For those who are interested in furthering their Protestant studies :D, I would also recommend Tozer’s The Pursuit of God as an excellent devotional resource.

4 comments:

Marie said...

Thanks for this... very true.

On the lighter side, I really like the picture of the nesting dolls. I wouldn't mind however many nesting dolls come in my set, if only when I bought the set, it was labeled with a certain number!=)

Rebekah said...

>>A carefully planned future is a big, dangerous joke.

Groan. How true.

Marie, I'd like two numbers: how many and by what date? :D

MooreMama said...

Hey - You need a poll option for "I don't love them, but they've grown on me to the point that my DH looks odd when he's clean-shaven."
I'm not voting in protest.

Oh - and the "how many kids, and over what span?" question... and how. Apparently, I'm a bit more fertile than I thought. Not that I'm complaining. Yet.

Dawn said...

MM: You've made me very happy. :)