My
sister had a milestone birthday this week, so Sara, the girls and
I decided
that it would be fun to go to Moose Jaw and celebrate with her. In the end, thirteen of us
went out for
supper and then a few more joined us for cake and coffee at my
mom’s
place. I am fortunate to
have close
relationships with my immediate family.
However,
outside of that immediate family, I do not know many of my
relatives. In fact, I have
cousins in Moose Jaw that I
have not seen in years. Families
are not
always close. Sometimes
the problem is physical
distance. Other times, circumstances and events create relational
distance, but
the fact is that we do not always have what we need. Fortunately, your biological
family does not
have to be your only family. You
can
choose to include others and find the pieces that you are missing.
After living in
Estevan for
almost thirty years, I can honestly say that the church here is
more than my
employer. They knew me
when I was
single. They celebrated
when Sara and
got married. They rejoiced
when our
girls were born. They
honoured our girls,
and many others, as they graduated from High School and headed to
university. My kids have
all kinds of
aunts and uncles, grandma and grandpas here.
Over the years, Sara and I have been practically adopted by
several
people who have acted as parents for us because we were away from
our own. None of these
people are blood relatives, but
they are family none-the-less.
In the past, it used
to be
customary for church members to refer to one another as brother
and sister as
in, “Hello, Sister Johnson!” While
I am
not advocating that we go back to using those exact titles again,
I believe
there is something beautiful and good about acknowledging the
connection we
share in Christ. We do not
just go to
church together. We are
family.
Psalm 68:6 says,
“God sets the
lonely in families”.
I hope that your
biological
family is close, loving and supportive.
However, whether it is or not, I know another family where
you can find
a place of love, connection and support.
You are always
welcome here.
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