Family is…
Faithful
Full of love, hugs, hope and delight
Fragile
Frustrating
Full of failures…and delights
Fraught with distressing moments
Full, so very full, of faith
From our Father in Heaven
The Father’s hands tending a grave, removing the grip of death on His Son
Faithful Father, giver of life
What is family composed of? Father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousins, niece, nephew, in-laws (or out-laws to some!), grandfather, grandmother and some even have great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers alive in their generation to love and learn from.
My now 91 year old mom and 90 year old dad introduced me to “Our Father” who art in Heaven, for which I am forever and eternally grateful. Mom taught me as a child that I am never alone.
“Hold His hand, sweetheart, and He will hold yours too. And He will gently squeeze your hand to let you know He is with you,” Mother wisely taught me.
Yes, Jesus lives “down in my heart” as the song we learned in Vacation Bible School teaches. And He is always with me and holds my hands…and the hands of His precious brothers and sisters when they reach out to Him.
What a gift to receive as a child! I was not frightened by much (except that open closet door with the billowing clothes) Why? Because Jesus was with me, faithfully holding my hand. Never alone….Indeed a gift.
When I pray, to this very day, my hands are typically tightly clasped and I feel His Holy presence with me, comforting me. And oh, how I need His comforting presence, each and every day. Why? Life.
Youngest son, buried. Oldest son so mad at God for losing his younger brother, he won’t talk, text or come see me. That simply hurts. It’s hard. And it’s a hazardous playground for the enemy to meddle with my mind.
Yet God holds my heart and my hand in His to heal even these deep wounds. And He gives me hope with His Holy word that even this gaff will be healed and this family will be made whole, healed, and healthy. (I just received a text from him. Praise God! Thank You, Father, for your good works and gifts.)
The best gift God gave us is Jesus. Did you know He is my Big Brother? That’s what the Bible teaches. I bet you’ve read the verse that says you are a joint heir in Christ. So He is your Big Brother too.
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption of sonship, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:17, 22-23
Co-heirs. Suffer. Glory. Childbirth. Pains. Wait eagerly. Adoption. Sonship. Redemption. Sound familiar? Sounds like LIFE to me!
Since God is The Father of Jesus and Jesus is His Son and I am an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ, then His Father is my Father too. And that makes me His sister in Christ. Right?
The very best Big Brother ever. Thank You, Jesus. I love my family.
You, too?
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