Size Does Matter

Kelly, Martin and the kids arrived 2 weeks ago. They left yesterday, Easter Sunday. It was difficult. There was a lot of crying. We had a lot of fun with one another this past visit. As our children grow older they are able to play together better and as we grow older we've all learned to "mellow out" a lot more! We laugh more and worry less and that makes for a great time!

My favorite Germans all stayed with mom and dad the first week where they hung out, shopped and went to a candy factory for a tour. Then they all transferred over here, where they helped complete a dollhouse two years in the making, took a trip to Chicago, and celebrated birthdays and Easter Sunday. We were able to squeeze in a visit to our cousin Traci's house and see a lot of our cousins we rarely get to see. That was a lot of fun too!

My thoughts about this last visit from my German family?

No matter what anyone says, size does matter.

There is an energy, a depth of love and joy, that comes from a large family. This is of course not to say that the love of a small family is shallow or somehow less great than a large family but it is lacking something that just can't be duplicated or faked.

Regardless of the many imperfections and "dysfunctions" that come along with having a large family (or any family for that matter), the sheer number does make a difference. Size does matter. More people means more sacrifices, more expenses, more demands - yes, yes, yes.
But, more people means more laughter, more "moments", more friendships, more growth, more learning, more sharing, more giving, more love!

There's a saying that's used to calm the fears of a young mother who worries if she'll have enough love for baby number two. Thinking that it's not possible to love another little person as much as she does the first she may get this advice from a more experienced friend - You do not divide your love between your children. Y.our heart, your capacity to love, grows larger in order to love each one!

Considering this truth, who would not recognize the benefits of a larger heart and therefore of a larger family? I suppose only those who have never experienced the thrill of walking into a noisy, crowded kitchen, loud with laughter and filled with the smell of coffee, to squeeze through a maze of adult legs just to snag a cookie from the table and then run off with ten or so of your cousins to go play some game you just made up together. Those moments matter. They shape you. I believe, make you love people and appreciate them as little treasures, each one. Large families can help to inoculate those who are a part of them, from the concept of babies as burdens, and people as products, that so infects our culture today.

I have been blessed twice by God in this regard. I grew up loving the crowd at Christmas time and the Fourth of July at Gram's house. I loved all the loud voices and the laughter. Now God has given me the great opportunity to build my very own family filled with chaos and noise. I grumble still as I sweep the kitchen floor for the hundredth time in one day. But yet, there is a deep and abiding peace in my heart that no material possession or amount of free time could ever bring me. This is the grace of a large family. Thank you God!