Family!

Yesterday, (Sunday August 24th) would have been my in-laws 45th wedding anniversary. What a awesome accomplishment in the day of so many broken families. Their commitment and love for each other was strong. Strong til the end! It's so hard to believe that my mother-in-law has been gone from this earthly world for almost 8 months now. We all miss her very much yet know that she is with her Lord and Savior.


I have been thinking a lot lately about family. And how very important it is to me.

First there is the family that God gives you, your parents, siblings, cousins, etc. These are the people you grow up with and learn from. The dictionary definition is a social unit living together. I grew up as an only child, so it was just my mom & I. But that was our family. We spent a lot of time with extended family and we are all still very close to this day. Sure, there are problems, we all have them, but hopefully, for most people, their God given family is a group of very special people.

Then you get married and get an entirely new family. If you are lucky, like me, you marry into an awesome family. One that you have fun with, do crazy stuff with and just enjoy being with.

You still have problems to work through and tough times, but if you are close, and if you make an effort, all things can be worked out. Change is hard, and sometimes it takes time to transition into something different and uncomfortable. And that's okay. We have to remember that we would do anything to keep our family bond strong. When we have strong feelings about something, we need to be able to talk about it, be honest, and open and try to work together to solve the problem. We are there for each other and respect each others feelings. To me, this is what family is all about.

I feel very blessed to have the family God chose for me and also the family that God planned for me to marry into. God is so good!