“Tell your children about it in the years to come, and let your children tell their children. Pass the story down from generation to
generation.” Joel 1:3
37 years ago I left Pennsylvania, my “home”, with my hubby
and baby daughter for what would become a 33 year absence from my extended
family’s lives. We spent most of those
years in ministry in Arizona, Texas and New York. Unfortunately funds were sparse most of the
time until we lived in New York State for just over 4 years, which allowed us
to be part of various family events during that brief time.
Back in those days the only form of communication was either
post mail or telephone. Unfortunately
for our family none of us were letter writers and long distance calls were
expensive, so years would go by with only a birthday card or Christmas card as
our form of communication.
Like most things, the Internet can have its good and bad –
but for me when it comes to reconnecting with my extended family it has been a
real blessing. It took a while for most
of us to “catch on” to email and now Facebook; some of us still have not
ventured into Twitter. For me, I’m still
trying to get a handle on email and Facebook let alone learn how to tweet or
twit or whatever it is called! I guess I
am showing my age!
I returned to live in my “region of my birth” in August 2009
providing an opportunity to reconnect with my extended family. It has been slow – we are all so busy and
many still live out of state or hours away, but we are trying to communicate
more via the Internet as well as try to get together when one of us is in the
area.
Two years ago I tried to put together a family reunion but
an unwanted guest blew our plans away – literally! The same weekend we were to have our family
reunion Hurricane Irene arrived, causing us to cancel our plans and batten down
our hatches. Two years later a few of
the “cousins’ were communicating via Facebook where we decided to try to plan
another reunion before the storms of winter arrive but after hurricane
season.
Most of us realize that we are all blessed to still have all
4 of our “elders” (my mother and her siblings) plus one of their cousins with
us. Especially when you learn that their
ages range from almost 91 to 77. We
wanted to bring them together once again before one of them takes their final
journey to their Heavenly home.
For me, I want this to be a special time not just celebrating
our “elders”, but one another. My hope
is for all the cousins to realize that we are the future of our family. We need to take up the torch that our
“elders” so graciously and honorably displayed and continue to lead our family
in the direction that our forefathers had laid the foundation of our family
legacy. We need to continue the legacy
with our children and children’s children by showing how important our family
is along with the importance of our family heritage.
My challenge and prayer for everyone reading this post today
is that we all must make time in our busy lives to not only honor our elders
with our presence today; but to realize that we need to continue to honor our
elders by continuing on their legacy by gathering together on a regular
basis. It is important to keep the lines
of communication open; to be loving, kind, forgiving and willing to realize
that though we may not always agree on lifestyles or life choices, we are
family for life bound together by blood.
So cherish your family – immediate and extended family. Reach out this week to a family member you
have not talked with in a while and tell them how much they have blessed your
life.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it
is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable
or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things. Love never ends. 1 Corinthians
13:4-7 (ESV)
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