Babies, Keep 'Em Coming

A few days ago I tweeted about Yitta Schwartz, a Holocaust survivor who had 16 children, and as the New York Times tribute put it, put her "thumb in the eye of the Nazis."

How? By leaving behind 2,000 descendants when she died at 93. 2,000!

By virtue of saying yes to the blessing of children, she "may have generated one of the largest clans of of any survivor of the Holocaust."

I think she's a hero. Not everyone does. Someone commented on my tweet with, "Most people don't believe having 2000 living descendents at the time of your death is a good thing. We're not rats & cats."

I'm not surprised by such sentiments, just saddened. In our anti-natalist culture, it's tempting to look at babies as consequences to be avoided. But that's not how God sees them. Psalm 127:3-5 says,

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

It's not easy having a lot of kids. We just got back from a long visit with family where 10 of the 12 cousins were all together. It was busy, and noisy, and not always easily managed (to say the least). But in the messiness, was beauty.

What about you? What's your reaction to Yitta Schwartz and to other families with a lot of kids?

Comments

[teaginny]

My feelings on families with lots of kids - see previous post. I hope all Christians will at least consider adoption as a way to build their families. There are so many children who need families, and what a wonderful way to share Christ's love with them and picture it to the world!

[Brooke]

This is definately a contraversial topic! It's just harder when you know it's not working well for the family. But I love your take on it! I love that God knew this from the beginning and gave this "job" for Adam and Eve to procreate. It seems like so many of the worlds religions recognize this and build up their army from kids. Lets make Kingdom kids and raise ours up to be godly warriors!

[Debra]

This is from the person whose tweet you quoted here. I came across your tweet by chance and decided to respond to it by using my newly-established twitter account. I wasn't even sure if my message was received, so imagine my surprise when I came to your site to learn more about you and found it here. I'd like to comment on your post - without twitter's restriction on words.

My reaction to your tweet wasn't based on some kind of "anti-natalist" philosophy. I've never even heard the term before and I certainly don't identify myself as such. I did some research and came across many and varied definitions of the term. Am I anti-birth, anti-child? Absolutely not - nothing could be further from the truth. Giving birth to my children was the most profound experience of my life. I love being around children and miss the days when mine were young.

Do I believe having the ability to plan the number and timing of one's children is very important to the health and well-being of mothers and children everywhere? Yes, and if that makes me an anti-natalist, then guilty as charged. In my younger years I studied issues surrounding population growth and its impact on society and the environment, but it's been a long time since I've given much thought to these issues. I'm far too busy taking care of the everyday business of life. My reaction to your tweet came from the heart, not from facts and figures.

I was touched by the story of this woman who survived the Holocaust and went on to live a long and full life, but it seems illogical to say she was a "world changer" and "hero" simply because she left behind 2000 descendents. I have no idea what kind of mother she was, do you? Was she kind and loving? Were her children happy and did they become productive citizens? Shouldn't that be the basis for our praise? Motherhood is not meant to be a competiton or numbers game where those with the greatest number of descendents "wins". That's what separates us from the "cats and rats", as I somewhat glibly put it.

Am I someone who believes babies are "consequences to be avoided"? Let me share a little about myself. Forty years ago, I became a mother soon after my seventeenth birthday. I was shunned by my family, abandoned by the child's father and pressured to put the baby up for adoption but I never waivered from my decision to keep her. When my baby was born with Down's Syndrome, I was advised to put her in an institution and never look back because she would bring me nothing but heartbreak. I didn't even considered it and set out with my beautiful red-haired girl to make a life for us. It took years of hard work and sacrifice to build that life but I did. I eventually married and had another child who almost died as an infant due to an undiagnosed health condition. Years of medical interventions and long hospital stays followed - for both my children. My son is now well and on his own but I continue to care for my daughter 24/7 due to her declining health.

Do I sound like someone who has tried to avoid the consequences of having children? You shouldn't be so quick to judge people whose opinions differ from yours, especially when those opinions were delivered in 145 characters or less.

[Candice Watters]

Debra, Thank You!! for stopping by to not only comment but share your story. Twitter is good for many things, but providing room for details isn't one of them! Bless you for your commitment to your children and your beautiful example of sacrificial love.

You're right, of course, that numbers alone don't equal fruitfulness. Our message isn't "make babies anyway you can," BUT "make babies for God's glory!" That makes all the difference.

Still, in this day where so many people see babies as consequences to be avoided, I was delighted to see what's possible when a mother embraces the gift of children--as many as God sends. The NYT article did more to flesh out the story of this family's life and impact on their community.

Again, thank you for taking the time to explain your tweet. I'm so glad you did!

[Julie]

I'm with Debra on this! Someone may only have one child but may be "one heck of a mother" while a mother of ten might not put the same time and/or conscientious style of parenting in...It is about quality of relationships. I read Start Your Family, and I agree with aspects and disagree with other aspects. One great point of Start Your Family was the importance of simplifying...I agree with that