The Blessing of Family

One of the most wonderful blessings God has given us is family. The cool thing about family is that there is a connection between family members that defies logic and reason. There is a love for family that transcends understanding.

I’ve experienced a couple of examples of that this week.

First, my husband, son, and I had dinner on Friday night with my cousin’s son. I had never met him before and had only just met his dad (my cousin) for the first time last summer. But we had such a wonderful time visiting at dinner, talking about our shared experiences being related to some of the same people. Even though from a logical standpoint, he was a complete stranger to me, our immediate response when we saw each other was to give each other a hug. As we talked, I realized just how much like both my father and my son he is. I learned that he wears the same show size as both of them – which he referred to as “the Rowland curse.” I also learned that he really likes to talk to people, even strangers, which is another trait both my dad and my son share. As we ended our time together, we talked about the next time he might be in town and that we would get together again. I am already looking forward to that time and getting to know him even better.

Second, I talked on the phone with one of my sisters who is not doing very well right now, though I don’t want to go into detail here as to the struggles she is facing for privacy reasons. Not too long ago I did something that upset her, and so when I called her to tell her about the aforementioned visit that I had planned with our cousin I wasn’t sure she would want to talk to me. But there is something about family such that disagreements like ours become irrelevant when one family member is in need. As we talked on the phone, I just wanted to reach through the phone and give her a hug, to make things all better. I really wished I had a Star Trek transporter so I could be with her instead of just talking on the phone. Even though hearing about her struggles was upsetting, I wouldn’t give up the sadness I feel because of what she is going through for anything if it meant not having her as my sister.

Third, I talked to my other sister on the phone as well. Even though we haven’t talked on the phone in a long time, there was no awkwardness in the call. We share a closeness as sisters that doesn’t require that we talk on the phone or see each other every day or even every week. We can go months without talking and pick up right where we left off the last time we talked.

I know that sometimes the blessing and connection of family does breakdown and family members become so estranged and hateful towards one another that there seems to be no hope of reconciliation. Logic and reasoning step in to keep family members separated to prevent further hurt and pain. I am thankful that in my family that is the exception rather than the rule.

Our Christian family has a similar connection as our biological family. We can meet someone who is a complete stranger but who is also a believer and feel a connection that defies logic. There are similarly the exceptions to that rule. My prayer is that in both biological and Christian families the exceptions would be few and far between and that we would always cherish and appreciate the blessing of family.