The "Weird" Family

So, lately I have been watching "19 Kids and Counting" and anything to do with The Duggar's! I am hooked! I know I am a freak but I was missing something in my heart without Jon and Kate. If you know me well, you know that I have a love for reality TV!! I mean it! I can get hooked in an instant to a "reality" TV show! I know it sounds horrible but I love watching people be people as un-Jesus-like as some of them may be or in the Duggar's case, Jesus-like as they are, I just really enjoy those shows. OK, I made my confession so now pass your judgements, ask for forgiveness and move on :).
Back to the Duggar's. So as I have been watching them my itch for another baby is growing and growing! No baby here, yet. But I watch them and I find myself desiring a family like theirs. Not 19 kids (Oh please sweet Jesus no... I would accept it with a happy heart if that is what he had for me:) but a family that truly, truly loves each other is what I desire. I am blown away at the love that the parents (Michelle and Jim Bob) have for each other and the love that the kids have for each other. I know that they have their moments all of them, but they seem to get what it means to really love. This past December they had their new baby who was not supposed to be born until March and she was only 1.6 pounds! I can not for the life of me picture having a baby that small. As I watched the show where they documented the birth of their sweet Josie Brooklyn I loved the anticipation that they all had for her arrival. They didn't consider her just another baby in a household where babies are common. They didn't just think of it as another sister or another number in the crowd. She was Josie Brooklyn. She was just as precious to them as baby number one. I love that Michelle and Jim Bob have taught their kids what a beautiful thing it is to be a family. Each sibling, even younger ones, seemed to realize the seriousness of her condition (being born at 25 weeks). The faith that they all had amazed me. The compassion and excitement they all felt just blew me away.
I want that. I want a family who rejoices with each other and hurts with each other. But first and foremost I want to be good at that myself. I was taught that everything rises and falls with leadership and I believe that to be true. If I want my kids to rejoice with each other and grieve with each other, than I need to be good at that myself. I want to be just as excited about the littlest accomplishments that so often get lost in the busyness of life as I am about the ones that stick out for all to see and remember. I want to be that way for each baby I have, not just number one and I want to be that way for my husband. I want my husband to always know that I am his biggest champion, good times or bad. I pray that my kids growing up really see that my love for my husband is what helps me to love them. That they know that Ryan and I love and care for them more than anything.
People look at the Duggar's and think of how weird they are and quickly pass judgement on how it may be unwise to have that many kids and where do you draw that line. I will be honest, I thought those things first, but now I watch them and I am more overwhelmed with the love of Jesus that flows through that house more than anything. As weird as people think they are, the show is still on tv.... and I bet since Jon and Kate are gone, the ratings have gone up (not sure, just a guess). I think people are drawn to the beauty of Jesus and you can see that when watching them. You see in the way that Jim Bob responds to his wife and vice versa. You see it in the way Michelle responds to her children and vice versa. It's attractive to people. I think it's more attractive too because they are living the life God has intented them to live. He intended for them to have as many kids as they do. They chose to trust the Lord with kids and obviously He is taking care of them. They have no debt, they have room for plenty, why not fill your house? None of their kids, up to this point have flat out chosen rebellion, they obviously have a healthy intimate relationship, and they love Jesus, so something must be right in the way they are running their home, right? I am sure they all mess up and make mistakes but they just have chosen to let Jesus cover it all up and I love that. They have chosen what is better.
So go ahead and call them "weird" but I would have to disagree. They have chosen a life that is different from most and I would have to say it's working for them :). I want to chose a life that is different from most. I want to be "weird" and have people at times question my reasoning. If that is what helps someone come to know Jesus, then so be it! I know my life and my roles are not meant to blend in and I don't want them too and I want to be ok with that. I want to take the heat from others and be ok with it. I want to be so confident in my God that no matter where we go or how we live or how many kids we have, we know it's where we should be as "weird" as it may be. Who knows, maybe we will be the next Duggar family :) ( haven't spoken to my husband about that though so don't hold me to it:).