Duggars say YES to Twenty!

Okay, I'm feeling a definite need to respond to people's comments about the Duggars being pregnant with their twentieth child.  My comment is, "Congratulations!  I'm so happy for them!"  This family is an example to us all on how to keep our eyes on the Lord.  Their priorities are straight...God and family.  And God is blessing them richly.

I have seen comments like, "they are disgusting" and "they are irresponsible."  Really?  Since when was having children disgusting?  Since when did it become irresponsible for a husband and wife who are madly in love with each other to have a large family?  The Duggars are doing just fine.  They feed, clothe, bathe, love, and provide a beautiful home for their children.  They are raising every single one of them without financial assistance from the government so they are not a burden to society at large.  They homeschool all of their children, so they are actually paying into the public school system but not taking from it in any way.  They instill strong Christian principles into all of their children.  They attend Church every weekend, even hosting their entire church in their own home on occasion.  They are stewards to the community at large by helping in soup kitchens, rebuilding people's homes after storms, etc.  They also make sure that every single one of their children can play an instrument or two - I believe their main instrument of choice is the violin.  Hmmmm, irresponsible?  disgusting?  I'm not really seeing what is so disgusting or irresponsible about them.

Is it that people think they might have a child with a disability now that Michelle is 45?  Is that really up to you to decide?  (I'm sorry to make this analogy but it reminds me of when so many people said they wouldn't vote for John McCain because he would probably die while in office from his skin cancer.  Guess what?  He's still very well alive.)  God sends his children to us with all types of imperfections all the time.  They are still God's children and made in His image.  They are supposed to be here.  They are not mistakes.  That attitude makes me ill.  Someone said to me today, "I don't mean to be selfish, but I wouldn't want one with problems."  Really?  REALLY?  Guess what?  All children will have problems at one time or another.  They're just all different and sometimes they don't manifest until much later.  It may be as simple as having trouble in school socially, or it may be at the other end of the spectrum such as having cerebral palsy.  All children are children of God made in His image, and all children are blessings.

I'm happy for the Duggars.  They are an inspiration to me as I deal with my daily struggles with my measly four - compared to their nineteen!  I will pray for them and their newest twentieth addition on the way.  I will pray that some people in our culture who would otherwise despise everything they represent begin to see the beauty that is in the Duggar family.  They are anything but disgusting or irresponsible.  I can think of many other adjectives to describe them and those two would not be there.  I wish them well.

p.s.  For anyone who does not know who the Duggars are, they are a large family who has a show on The Learning Channel.  You can see all about them here:  The Duggar Family