Are you crazy?

 
That is the question lurking in the backs of some peoples’ minds. For those who voice it, it usually comes out like this, “You’re going to Africa with six kids???”

Yes we are.

I mentioned in another post that God is sovereign and I am a firm believer now. God was preparing our hearts long before Africa was even a thought. When we were first married, Kellee must have told me a thousand times she felt like she was supposed to homeschool our kids. I fought it. After all, I went to public school and look how good I turned out, right? But God never let go of her heart. Fast forward to elementary school and Eli is in kindergarten (Ethan and Emilee are still little and the others not even born yet). By the middle of the year, God had moved on my heart, and I also wanted him to be homeschooled (I bet Kellee was praying about THAT, too). Kellee is a great teacher, and homeschooling really works for us.

“You’re homeschooling six children?”

Yes we are.

In God’s sovereignty, He opens and closes wombs (Gen 29:31, Gen 30:2, Gen 30:22, 1 Sam 1:5-6, Psalm 127:3). I’m not sure Kellee and I ever planned specifically for six, but I could not imagine life without any one of them. That is what God has given us. It is definitely not the norm as evidenced by the remarks of complete strangers:

“Don’t you know what’s causing that?”
“You need to get a different hobby.”
“Are those all your children?”
“So you're the family in the church directory that has six kids?”

Yes we are.

By all of societies’ standards, we are crazy. In fact, our blog should probably be called “those crazy Cogdills”, but we don’t live according to what society thinks is good or right or normal. We have always tried to tell the kids it is okay to be different. Don’t ever try to be something you’re not, just to fit in. So this is how God made the Cogdill family and He is sovereign. And here is the cool part -

He made us for His glory.

All that homeschooling He wouldn’t quit pursuing Kellee about? It makes us ultra-portable. We can pick up and go live in a small town in the middle of nowhere in Africa and still be fine. Sovereignty? God began preparing us for this assignment years ago.

Homeschooling has also made us a very close family. The kids are best friends with each other. They do everything together. We can move away from friends and family and even English speaking people and still be fine. Sovereignty? God has been preparing us for this assignment over the course of years.

And the fact that there’s six kids? Well, they even pair up nicely.

How God is that? The older two play together, the middle two play together and the twins… well they speak some weird language that only they know. We’re pretty sure they are up to something, we just don’t know what it is yet. And each pair shares similar interests. Only God can design that.

Fast forward to next year or early 2013. Picture all eight of us serving a people by helping bring them the Bible for the very first time. That they might all be able to know the one true God – the sovereign God who could line up events over the course of years to bring about His plans. He made us for His glory. He uniquely designed us for a purpose. In the end that is the only answer I have for you. We are going because He is worth it. And that is not crazy.

“But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” Psalm 115:3 NASB