Hello Babs, you grew up in a large family. Were there more pros than cons, or the opposite? What were some of the benefits of growing up in a large family? How many bathrooms did you have?
Even though I am still in Florida and preferred to be in the hot seat when I was back home I will do my best to answer any questions y'all have for me.
Thank you @Chrissy Page, I'm actually glad you perceive me that way and I have to give the glory to God for filling me with His peace most of the time. That "peace" keeps me calm and centered even in my times of sorrow, frustration, anger, and any of the other negative emotions as well as the positive emotions. But I am very human and I go through the whole spectrum of emotions just as all of us do during our life times. I do my best not to let any emotion control me though and believe that in the end no matter what we are going through...whether we are happy or not is our choice to make.
Hello @Ruby Begonia. I absolutely can say without a doubt that I loved growing up in a large family and there were definitely more pros than cons. I think one of the most important benefits to me personally was always having "friends" no matter how often we moved. We're all very close in age to one another. We moved a lot since my dad was in the Air Force and then the Army...and when he retired from this he was a traveling salesman so we moved often with that too. So even if we didn't stay long enough in one place to make deep friendships...we always had each other...and we remain close to this day. Another benefit was having enough siblings to play games with and if someone didn't feel like playing something...one of my other siblings usually did. Holidays were a lot of fun with so many of us. About the only con I can think of is having to wait your turn for the bathroom sometimes and since I wasn't a boy I couldn't do like some of my brothers and just go behind a bush and let it all hang out! Privacy could be a bit of an issue at times too. But I'd manage to find an empty closet, etc. where I could be alone if I really felt the need. As for bathrooms I think most of the time we had at least two...and in our home where I lived from the time I was 12 until I finished High School there was two and a half bathrooms.
@Shirley Martin I have had an ingrained faith long before I even knew the meaning of that word. I have heard God whisper to my spirit since I was a young child too...but back then hearing His voice was as natural to me as breathing and I just took this for granted. Later on my heart desired to really "know" the "One" behind that whisper in my spirit or heart as I thought of it back in my girlhood. After my daddy died when I was barely 12 years old...my journey into a relationship with God and Jesus became my heart's desire and no matter what has gone on in my life having that relationship with our Creator and our Savior is still the strongest desire of my heart. Now if you are including "baptism" in this question, I was baptized as a baby in the Catholic faith....and I was baptized as a follower of Christ when I was 27 years old.
@Karen McKenzie. I will get back to your question in a few hours because right now I am going to spend my last few hours at the beach before I go home. @Karen McKenzie My most perfect day was the day I held my first child in my arms and knew God had blessed me with my heart's desire. My Doctor had told me I would probably never have a child of my own because of problems I had with my reproductive system. This news devastated me but my faith was strong that God would provide the children my heart longed for and He did just that...not just once but four times. Three daughters were birthed from my own womb and my one and only son was birthed in my heart when his Mom died and left me the blessing of becoming his Mom. The funniest mistake I ever made was eating what I thought was regular brownies...but ended up being "marijuana brownies"...
Hi Babs sorry again about the short notice but good of you to step in. I wondered if all your siblings share your faith?
@Bonnie Thomas My most favorite quote is "I give as good as I get!" by me and whoever else might have thought of that one. And I absolutely hate cleaning toilet bowls! So my Honey volunteered to be the toilet cleaner in our home.
Hi @Terry Page Yes, all my siblings believe in God and have asked Jesus Christ to be their Savior. But it didn't happen all at one time and we are all at different spiritual levels in our lives...which is nice because we help each other grow in our faith and relationship as we grow.