adoption

Why Quiverfull?...

Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. Ps. 127:4-5

Quiverfull A conservative evangelical Christian movement that promotes procreation, rejects birth control, and regards children as a blessing from God.

In the Christian culture, and world culture in general, I believe this word is very misunderstood. Some refer to Quiverfull as a cult, some know it explained with a broader definition that includes complete control of the wife by the husband, but most who know and understand this term know it to be neither of the former.

My personal understanding of Quiverfull may surprise you. It's been a journey to get to this point, but I am solid in my beliefs that Quiverfull is for anyone and everyone and that God knows what He's doing, even if we don't understand or see the bigger picture.

What Quiverfull means to me...

It means trusting the Creator to be the Creator in our lives. Let Him do the creating and in the meantime, let's not deny ourselves, as husbands and wives, our bodies, unless it is mutually agreed upon to resist sexual activity for a time of prayer as stated in I Cor. 7:5 [Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.] Because God always considers children a blessing and not a curse, we should be open to receiving those blessings as oft as they come. Does this include adoption and fostering? absolutely!! God commands us to care for the widows and orphans and to stand up for the least of these. If God has specifically called you to adoption, heed the call and trust Him to provide in every way. If He hasn't directly asked you to adopt, be supportive either in prayer or by monetary means those couples around you seeking to please The Lord in this way.

God as the opener and closer of the womb

I can think of a handful of women from scripture that God proved faithful to and honored their desire for a child. But He did so in His timing and many women waited until well past what were their childbearing years to conceive a child. The obvious and most well known being Sarah, Abrahams wife, who had her first child close to her 100th year. Hannah, the mother of Samuel. She desired a son for many years and God blessed her but desired her son to be given to the temple priest Eli at the young age of two. Tough stuff, but what a testimony of strength and obedience! Rebekah, Issacs wife, had trouble conceiving more than two children and was made fun of and demeaned by his other three wives. Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, who in her old age gave birth to the man who would pave the way for Christ's ministry on earth. And then we have Mary, whose virgin conception has never been experienced nor even will be experienced again, as she welcomed God in the flesh into her womb. God opens and closes the womb. There is no denying it.

how full is your quiver

Some of us have been called to live the single life, some of us will never become mothers in the sense that we will birth a child. God has used many single women to "mother" and "adopt" beautiful children all around the world. Your quiver does not have to be filled with your own DNA.

Others of us struggle with what today we call "infertility". Some of us struggle with conditions such as endometriosis and similar ailments that prevent us from conceiving or keeping a pregnancy. God sees your struggle, He sees the way it breaks your heart, and He has a plan for your family and your mothers heart. I encourage you to seek Him as you go forward, and remember that while it's not fair what you are experiencing, that God hasn't forgotten about you and He will fill your heart with a child in His perfect timing and will. I believe that's why there are so many stories of barren women in the Bible. What testimonies of faith, trust, hope, and obedience they are.

quiverfull isn't a contest

I despise when people say, "are you trying to catch up/outdo/be like the Duggars? To me, my goal is not to have 20 kids and counting. My goal is to honor God by allowing His procreative will in my life. People may say,"well are you not satisfied with the ones you have?" "Why do you need more?" It's not even like that. It's not that I NEED more children or that I'm unhappy with only four, it's that I'm satisfied no matter what the outcome! Full quiver to me means if I have none: God, you are good. Thank you. If I have one: God you are good. Thank you. If I have 7: God, you are good. Thank you. If I have 4 of my own and 4 adopted: God, you are good. Thank you. Whatever your quiver holds, God is good. You are satisfied. This is not a contest. This is not a race to fill up a church van. I don't want to be the Duggars or any other large family, I want to be fully where I am and fully willing to accept what He has for me.

we accept other "blessings", but like to reject Gods biggest blessings

Think for a moment: We want all God can give us when it comes to money, good health, possessions, and time to relax. We would never say, "no, Lord, you keep that extra money you tried to give us. No more Lord." We would never say, "Oh, God, please can you stop with the awesome material things you keep allowing us to have?" But yet, we want to limit and not trust God when it comes to children. So we have permanent procedures done to fix the "problem" of having more children, we consume health altering and abortive drugs to keep any accidents at bay. All because why? Because of the additional responsibility? Because children are expensive? Because I may not be able to afford 4 trips to the beach every year? Because I may have to pay for a bigger vehicle, another wedding, or another college tuition? Children are NOT expensive, lifestyles are. God doesn't bring you to something and turn His back. If He provides another family member, He will provide all the needs that your growing family needs. Trust me. I've witnessed it personally...all the time. And not just with my own family, with countless others that have twice as many children and make the average American salary. It's all about lifestyle. It's all about trusting our Heavenly Father with every part of our lives. Our money, our health, our families, our possessions, our everything.

raising arrows

The most important part of being quiverfull is taking the time to sharpen your arrows. Arrows, children in this case, have little to no effectiveness if they aren't sharpened. We are raising Gods army, we are hopefully raising a mighty generation of missionaries and warriors for God and His purposes. You can have more arrows than the guy next door but if they aren't sharpened you are vulnerable. The amount of arrows isn't the point, the point is, do your arrows have a sharpened point? How much time do you spend sharpening your arrows? What is your investment?

I challenge you to look at your quiver and see it as full. Full of children that God has put around you, full of your one child whether biological or adopted, full of if you have twenty biological or a mix of biological and adopted. The important thing is, let God fill your quiver with the amount He has for you in the way He leads you to. Don't prevent His will and allow Him to lead your heart and your quiver into His hands. For blessed is the man (or woman) whose quiver is FULL.

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-Alicia