sitting in the ob's office last week i was subjected to a pregnant woman laughing over her belly, "ah girl, you know i'm gettin my tubes tied after this one. i already got two -- and that's two too many!" it made me cringe.
"was this one planned?"
"none of 'em was planned!"
"what do you mean?"
"pills don't work on me."
i wanted to vomit.
it's been awhile since i've had to sit in on conversations like these and i've forgotten how angry i get when i'm subjected to such bilge. and, what really rattles my ire more than anything is how evil is our birth control mentality that makes a baby -- a human soul -- an accident and a mistake.
it would be easy for me to pass these women off as crass heathens, spiritual maroons so out of touch with the miraculous that they cannot comprehend the miracle taking place within their own wombs. but these women are church goin' folk.
i'll gladly admit that there has been a smidgeon of a trend among a very small percentage of protestant christians, especially in the evangelical circles, towards less birth control and larger families. but all too often these good christian women who praise God for every blessing -- including the parking space in the front row at the mall -- and trust Him in every financial circumstance -- includig the last penny in her pocketbook -- will yank the perverbial rug right out from under the Holy Spirit when it comes to HER womb.
and nothing, but nothing, makes these ladies see red faster than my solid reply to their "is this your last one?" question. "that's up to the Lord to decide," i smile -- and the prim grin fades and the teeth start gritting. does anyone know why they get so angry at that one?
sometimes i get "well that's fine if you can afford them." and it's always said in this really ugly tone of voice down a pinched nose. is that really the prerequisite for co-creating a human soul? and what if i can't?
you know, it's incredible what people actually think is any of their business. of course, anyone who knows me knows beyond a shadow of a doubt what i really want to say to these women -- and i use that term loosely -- but i bite my tongue. oh yes, i do. i have to because inevitably they ask, "so are you catholic?"
I so hear you! Whenever I responsd with "it's up to God" I get the same response--most irritatingly from relatives...
A dear friend of mine's response to "Is that your last one?" is "So far." (She had #10 in November.)
Cheers,
-John-
I suggest a copy of Sam and Bethany Torodes's book Open Embrace: A protestant couple rethinks contraception" to keep on hand. It has some good stuff in it.
One more soul also has some neat pamphlets that you can print out from their site and give out - Protestants are great at giving out tracts, let's join them at it.
There are actually a lot of good ways to evangelize the culture on this issue.
CHarles Provan has writted some biblically based Protestant books on the errors of contraception that you might also want to review for talking points.
Of course, it is perfectly acceptable to bite your tongue and smile sweetly......
I feel your pain, Micki.
As someone who's infertile and became a mother via adoption, I can't really relate, but had a funny thought anyway. Instead of the EPT test, imagine going to the mailbox and finding a completed, notarized homestudy .... "Honey! Guess what came in the mail today! Another home study! Looks like we're 'pregnant' again!"