Jonah Goes to Nineveh (Part 1 of 2)

I didn't write yesterday because I had to take a break from all this intense writing.

That, and I was playing Jonah.

When I first started this blog, I already had in mind several topics about which I could write. I was going to leave the subject of birth control for later... much later. But then (funny how it is), in the past three days, I've had three different conversations about the very topic. Believe me, this is not normal-everyday small talk for me. Before now, I've had maybe three conversations about birth control (with people other than my husband) in the past ten years. It is something I ponder on quite frequently, but not something I feel comfortable discussing.

So, I was playing Jonah. I was running away from Nineveh, going in the other direction, trying to avoid the voice of God. But you know how the story goes. Without a storm or a fish, I realized that my next blog entry was to be about my choice in birth control, as controversial as it may be. Today, I will give you a quick summary, and tomorrow, a more detailed account.

Remember, I am not an expert, or a doctor, or a theologian. I am expressing to you my experiences and how I've come to my decision based on what I know Biblically. I do appreciate your comments, if you would like to share them with me and my readers.

I have never taken 'the pill'. I never felt comfortable with the idea of putting hormones in my body. Nor did I feel comfortable with putting a foreign object into my body. The more I thought about it, the more I believed that God had designed a woman's body to be in perfect working order, that the rhythms in my body were not without a purpose. My husband and I discussed this thoroughly before we were married, and he agreed with me completely.

There is nothing earth-shattering about my discovery, but the comments we've received over the years have been unexpected. If they were all from non-Christians, they would have washed over me without a scratch. But I have found that even some of my own Christian brothers and sisters viewed our decision as unwise, naive, or irresponsible, like we were drunken teenagers at a party.

It comes down to a matter of trust. I give up the control (that I think I have) and trust God. I live knowing that He will not give me more than I can bear. I live knowing that every child is born at the perfect time, for a perfect purpose, to the perfect family.