God gave us family.

Family was God’s idea; an integral part of being human. He intended family to be something powerful for good, places of belonging and trust, of learning and loving.

I am very fortunate to have grown up in a loving family. Being the youngest of 8, my mom and dad loved each of us. Having lost my dad to heart failure early in my childhood, one would think that this tragedy would tear the family apart, but it didn’t. My mom, the rock of our family, held us together for many years; she loved her family.

Life happens; mom passed and it seemed that our family split apart. My mom would not want us to stay apart just because of sibling disagreements.

Even though I have a family of my own now, I miss all of us getting together each year.

We only get one chance to get it right, and once this life is over, there will be no more family reunions unless you know and love God. I have a wonderful church family where I am surrounded by people who love God and love each other.

May God bless my family and yours. The verse below says it all. Love your family.

1 John 4:20 - “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”