by Wayfarer

Created on: December 06, 2008

A quiver full of arrows is one thing, but a quiver full of kids?

Quiverful families are a new (or returning) phenomenon in the western world. They start as couples living normal married lives but they let God be their birth controller. The result might mean no children or twenty!

Artificial birth control is a relatively new thing in society. In days gone by there was no option. If you had a healthy sex life, chances are you were going to have babies. If you kept on doing it, they would keep on coming until the menopause, or exhaustion, called a halt.

Infant mortality was high. The chances of all the children growing up were slim. In poorer parts of the world having lots of children is still seen as a good thing. It increases the chances of some of them being able to care for you in your old age.

But in modern, western society things are a bit different. With few predators and good nutrition there is no reason why all your children shouldn't have happy, healthy lives. That possibility brings with it its own quiverful of well some would call them problems, but others would see them as blessings.

Folk who opt for the Quiverful life take their inspiration from the Psalms.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;"

Like all matters of faith the Quiverful philosophy has supporters and detractor. A predominant view sees this as a male vanity project with "the wife" popping out little 'uns to make him feel more like a man. They see the woman as some kind of breeding mare who will soon be worn out and fit only for the knackers' yard.

Of course, strong female voices immediately let it be known that they are children of God, not slaves to men. If they are having more children than others, then it is because they trust that that's God's plan.

Others ask, "Who's gonna pay for all these kids?" But Quiverful families, being people of faith and principle, tend not to rely too much on the support systems provided by the government. If they find themselves in need of advice or practical help they often turn to other like themselves.

Books have been written on the Quiverful way of life, web sites are springing up. The phenomenon seems here to stay.

So, what of the future for the Quiverful family? Will siblings from families of eighteen or twenty-two long to recreate the loving hustle and comforting bustle of their youth? Or will they look back on years of noise, no privacy and stolen toys and decide to spare their own kids all of that?

The Quiverful families will say whatever happens will be as God wills it. And there's no arguing with that.

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