I have run a blog for over 3 years (Large Family Arrows) but in all that time I haven’t talked about how I got the name of the blog or how I came to have 8 wonderful kids to talk about in the first place.
Now I should say, that I was raised as an only child. I had a brother and he passed away when I was 4. So large families would have been strange to me. I can remember seeing families with multiple children and perhaps being surprised at the number of children they had.
It was kind of hard for me to wrap my head around couples having several kids. When I was growing up, it seemed that having 2 kids was normal. My mom had 2 children and both of my mom’s sisters had only 2 kids.
In this blog post, I will talk about my personal experience on this issue. I know this can be a hot button for some people so I am just telling you my story.
I am not saying everyone needs a large family because not everyone can have children, let alone a large family.
For me, this post is going to be based on my husband and myself stepping out with faith in trusting God for the size of our family.
"Psalm 127: Children Are a Heritage from the Lord"
Psalm 127:3-5 is such a beautiful passage that speaks directly to the hearts of parents and children. It says:
"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."
Now, if you're not familiar with this verse or its meaning, let's break it down. These words were traditionally written by Solomon in the Bible
known for his wisdom, and they carry a powerful message about the value of children.
First, the verse tells us that children are a heritage from the Lord—meaning they are a gift, an inheritance from God. They aren’t just an accident or a burden, but a blessing entrusted to us by the Creator Himself. This was a big deal in biblical times, just as it is today!
Then, the imagery shifts to arrows. In ancient times, arrows were vital for protection and warfare. A warrior needed arrows to defend his home and stand strong against enemies. In the same way, children are like arrows in the hands of a mighty warrior. When raised with godly wisdom and direction, they become strong, capable, and ready to stand for truth in the world.
And what about the part about having a “quiver full”?
Back then, having many children was seen as a sign of strength and blessing. A full quiver meant security, legacy, and a bright future. Even today, this verse reminds us that children are not just part of our lives—they are part of God's greater plan.
Ultimately, Psalm 127:3-5 is a reminder that children are a gift, a responsibility, and a blessing. No matter what the world may say about family size or parenting, God sees children as something to be cherished, nurtured, and brought into the world for His glory.
What Does "Heritage" Mean in Biblical Context?
The word "heritage" makes me think of something precious that is passed down—something deeply valued, like a family heirloom or an inheritance.
Back in biblical times, children weren’t just seen as part of the family; they were one of the greatest gifts God could give. People viewed children as blessings, like land, wealth, or honor.
Big Families Were Everything
Back in biblical times, having a big family wasn’t just normal—it was something to celebrate! More children meant more helping hands to plant crops, care for animals, and support the household. But it wasn’t just about survival.
A large family was seen as a direct blessing from God, a sign of His provision and favor. The more children a family had, the stronger and more secure they were physically and spiritually.
A Responsibility Entrusted by God
Seeing children as a heritage from the Lord means understanding that they’re not just ours—they’re a gift entrusted to us by God. As parents, we have the incredible responsibility of raising them to know Him, love Him, and walk in His ways.
It’s not just about meeting their daily needs; it’s about pouring into their hearts, teaching them the truth, and passing down a legacy of faith that will carry on for generations. In a world that often sees kids as an inconvenience, God reminds us that they are a blessing and a calling.
Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
As you can see, the Bible looks at being fruitful and multiplying differently than we do today.
My Story…
It all started when I had my 2nd child. My husband and I went to the dr. to do what is expected of us by society. That was to see about one of us being altered to prevent having more children. Our choice was that it would be better for my husband to have this life-changing surgery.
Now, we didn’t even consider that we should pray and ask God what he desired for us. This is just what everyone does, right? I have it on video in the hospital. I have my boy, and I have my girl, I’m done.
However, just before going to this appointment to discuss the procedure, I had thoughts like, you will still be able to have children, but your husband won't be able to. My thoughts continued with, you are no longer twain (or two people) but one.
Matthew 19:6
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Needless to say, I started feeling uncomfortable about this decision. However, I never said anything to my husband at that point. So we went to the doctor. After we left that appointment, my husband immediately said to me, if you don’t feel comfortable about having this procedure done, we won’t do it.
Like I said earlier, we never thought to pray and ask God to lead us in this area. It was never on our radar screen. I never remember hearing a minister, parents, or other Godly people to encourage us to seek God in this area of our lives.
I am so thankful that God started nudging our hearts and leading us on a different path.
So we waited on the Lord before having any more children. Even though we didn’t permanently prevent having children, we also didn’t have any more for many years.
I was 25 when I had our first son and almost 27 when I had our daughter. We still didn’t have the big picture yet when the Lord laid those things on our hearts. After all, we were still in control. In my mind, I was trying to figure out if I wanted more children.
I would say things like, “If I have any more kids, I want them before 30” because, at that age, you think 30 is just getting too old to have kids.
I am here to tell you, IT ISN’T!
Anyways, God started bringing people into our lives to teach us about Psalms 127. I was at a homeschool park day, and one of the moms was talking about her pastor preaching on having your quiver full of them, referring to having children.
“Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them”
I wasn’t sure what she was talking about. First of all, I didn’t know what a quiver was, and I’m not even sure if I was familiar with that passage.
Side note: In Biblical times, a quiver was a container that held arrows. It was an ordinary piece of equipment that warriors, hunters, and archers would have carried at that time.
Depending on the type of shooting a man was doing, a quiver could carry anywhere from 8 to 24 arrows in it.
Back to my story, I just started talking with her about this. Then, after park day was over, they invited me to stay for a Bible study that the moms were having on these topics.
This mom who invited me to the Bible study had 2 children at the time and had her tubes tied. However, she told me how God had laid on her heart to have this reversed.
Anyways, shortly after that, her husband drove her from one state to another and paid for it out of their pocket to have her surgery reversed. I couldn’t wrap my mind around that alone. You know that her husband not only would let her do that but also pay to do it and drive her to another state to get it done.
That was profound to me.
Then, another time, I met a lady at church who had 5 children and was pregnant with another little one. I started picking her brain about how she got to her decision to trust God for the size of her family.
However, while this isn't the only reason, one of the biggest issues that couples may not surrender family size to God might be finances. We may have been one of those people. After all, we were a one-income family, and I was a stay-at-home and homeschooling mom. A fear that I had was, well, if we didn’t do family planning, we could end up having 10 children.
Before we saw God directing us to trust him for our family size, we experienced God starting to move in our finances. My husband and I felt led to do a long fast.
During this time, he was praying for a vehicle. Just a couple of days or so after we completed that fast, my husband called me from work and told me some coworker had just given him a car. She didn’t know what his need was. She just out of the blue told him she had decided to give him this car. Also, where we lived at the time was under a homeowners' association. Then, we received a card in the mail. It was addressed to my husband from my husband.
He immediately opened it up, knowing that he hadn’t sent mail to himself, so he was curious. It said that our homeowner's association dues had been paid for that year. It was just signed by a friend. As we had considered through the years whether we should have any more children, finances always played a part in our decision-making. My husband would say something like if we had this or that, then sure, we could have another baby.
We never imagined down the road, however, that was the very direction God was leading us to. So, after God moved in that way with the car and with that bill, I believe it spoke to my husband that God will provide no matter what.
I can testify that God has been faithful to us. We stepped out in faith and trusted God in the area of family planning or trusting in the size of our family. God has been faithful to us in every need. He has been there during job loss, miscarriages, and every other area of our life. He has provided when we had a need.
Among those needs were income and a vehicle. During the financial crash of 2008, my husband was one of those people who lost there job. I was also pregnant with baby number 6 during this time. God provided!
When I was expecting baby number 7, we were outgrowing our Chevy Astro that sitted 8. We didn’t have the resources to purchase the next step up, the 15-passenger van. Yes, that was our family vehicle for many years.
Anyways, this is a cool testimony right here… My husband gets a call from someone that he worked with as work was available. My husband was also just going into ministry but wasn’t currently pastoring a church yet. The man calls and asks if he can come by but doesn’t tell him the reason for the visit. My husband says sure.
It’s probably an hour or less when he shows up, tells the whole family to go outside, and has a 15-passenger van in the driveway that he gives us. It was so surreal.
I was just praying and saying to God, we are going to need a larger vehicle. This was in November, and my baby was due in February. So I say to God we don’t need it now, but we will need it soon.
So they just gave us this vehicle in November. Then we found out about another pastor who had a stroke and lost his vehicle because they repossessed it. We were able to bless this pastor with our old van. That’s why it showed up in November instead of the coming near February. God was meeting our needs while meeting his needs. How cool is that?
So that is my story, and that is my WHY.
When I started my blog, I named it Large Family Arrows from the scripture Psalms 127. These are our arrows, and we are very blessed with them.
God knew what was best for us, and I can’t imagine what life would have been like had we not obeyed the voice of the Lord.
It goes against everything that our world promotes today, but it was the right decision for us.
If you enjoyed this post. Please comment below and share. Maybe someone else is weighing in the balance in this decision and needs encouragement to step out in this area.
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