Brothers And Sisters, It's A Family Matter

Well, the holiday season is, and has been, upon us. Much will be written about the season and what it means to various ones of us. This blog will be much like those. We understand that the true meaning of the season is to remember God's greatest gift to us, His son Jesus. The Christ. The Savior. The Anointed One. Traditionally, we celebrate God's gift by showing a similar spirit of giving by exchanging gifts. Most of us exchange gifts with those closest to us. Some give much to charity because of their ability to do so. Some unfortunately have little wherewithal to give much of anything. To them the season brings pain at the prospect of not being able to meet self-imposed expectations. I know, I've been there before. I'm blessed to have been raised in a home that, though far from perfect, had an underlying love for each other. It was something my father valued greatly. Even during moments of chastening he always let us know it was because he loved us. When we as siblings griped and bickered with each other he would remind us how fortunate we were to have brothers and sisters. Now that we're older we all see that, and thankfully, we all appreciate each other more than ever. I'm glad that when I made my dad angry that he reminded me of his love, (though sometimes the reminder had a measure of pain to it!) I'm also glad that we were not banished from him, or from one another. There were times I didn't want to speak to my siblings, but it was never forced upon any of us by our parents. In fact, often times the shared sympathy was a tremendous help. How painful it would have been if my dad would have prevented my brothers or sisters from talking to me just because he was upset. The blessing of brother and sisterhood has extended itself to us through the Family of God. We count it joy that we have so many wonderful friends. I'm still amazed at how strong our friendships have remained after so many years. Memory would fail me to mention all those that mean so much to us. Even though we have now been former members of 3 congregations we esteem the wonderful men, women and children with whom we have formed relationships. This is perhaps the most understated element of Christian living. The living strength of relationships and family bonds. This is perhaps why it hurts so much to go through the holiday season after having lost a loved one. The sense of grief seems compounded for many reasons. One definite reason is the feeling that we forgot to give something so important to the one we lost - a constant reminder of how much we loved them. This holiday season I am reminding myself to let all of you know just how much you mean to us. Though we are separated by distance, we are joined by love. No silence, no lack of immediate presence, no busy-ness can really separate us from the feelings we have for you all. We think of you often and pray God's blessings upon you. After all, that's a gift too. Merry Christmas.