Meet The Duggars
The Duggar family was going to be at Biltmore Baptist Church.
Though my own television didn’t receive their weekly cable show,
I had followed them on the internet. Pictures of their huge house,
beautiful, beaming children and recopies including massive amounts
of homemade liquid laundry soap and Dad’s favorite casserole made
with ubiquitous tater tots. I immediately made plans to attend.
I wanted to get to meet this unique family who’d sparked the
nation’s curiosity.
Jim-Bob and Michelle Duggar and 17 of their 18 biological children
stood on the stage at Biltmore Baptist Church, 15 of the children
in two rows, each holding a violin. The six youngest boys stood in
the front row with matching suits and ties with a little sister who
the smallest violin. Grandma and Daddy held the youngest girls who
made a brief but equally adorable appearance. The two youngest
players entertained the crowd with antics expected of little ones
on stage in front of a thousand people, the youngest brother poking
sister in the ribs with his bow, wanting her to play her violin
more often than she was. In response, the sister frowned slightly
and yawned a long, crowd-pleasing yawn.
The family’s oldest son and daughter-in-law recently had their
first baby and was back in Arkansas while the rest of the family
reportedly had a fun-fest in Pigeon Forge and at The Biltmore House,
film crew in tow.
After being treated to several tunes by the group, the parents
presented an hour-long testimony about their lives. Michelle,
who is in her 40’s and expecting their 19th child in March, spoke
in a soft voice about her childhood conversion to Christ and meeting
Jim-Bob during high school. Like her teen daughters, she had waist
long hair and a glowing smile.
In words uncharacteristic for our times, Jim-Bob spoke openly about
their use of the birth-control pill after the arrival of their first
son and how they didn’t know “the pill” can allow a pregnancy to
occur but not allow your body to keep the pregnancy. This situation
led to the miscarriage of their second pregnancy and the emotional
devastation that followed. After that, the couple prayed for God to
give them a special love for children. They abandoned birth control
and became pregnant with twins.
They frankly stated they didn’t have a perfect family, nor were they
perfect parents. Jim-Bob stated he hadn’t had a bad temper until after
they’d had children. Then he’d struggled to avoid anger, asking the
children to let him know when it seemed he was reacting too harshly.
The couple, married for 25 years, demonstrated a happy affection for
each other as they spoke. They advised not to allow “broadcast
television” in their home as they’d been told by Mentor, Pastor and
Author Ed Wheat. Both emphasized the good life of listening to God’s
“still small voice” and being faithful to God and his Word.
The family has operated a number of businesses over the years
including Real Estate, Towing and Used Cars. Jim-Bob was once a
State Representative and ran unsuccessfully for Congress. Michelle
home schools the children and does not work outside the home. The
family appears to demonstrate financial self-sufficiency and
adheres to a “debt-free” lifestyle. After the presentation,
they held a book signing for their book, “18 and Counting”.
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