fam·i·ly
Pronunciation: ‘
ˈ
fam-lç,
ˈ
fa-mə-
Function:
noun
family is a funny thing.
all of us have one of some sort.
i’d venture to guess that when most people define family, they’d toss out an answer similar to the first two that good old miriam-webster gives: 1. “a group of individuals living under one roof;” 2. “a group of persons of common ancestry.”
often family is thought of in the typical “immediate” context – mom, dad, brother, sister…maybe even the family pet.
but that’s just the beginning of the list.
we can’t forget blended families – step, half, foster, adopted accomplices in this thing called life.
take one step further and you have the “extended” family – grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins.
some people even have their family tree nailed down so well that they keep in touch with
second levels of extended family (although i think that just about everyone i’ve ever heard mention a second cousin usually refers to said family member as “my second cousin…or is she my second aunt?…well, you know what i mean.”).
it might sound kinda strange, but when people ask me about my family, i usually pause for a minute.
do i give them the quick “grew up with my mom and sister” answer?
the slightly more descriptive “divorced parents, grew up in mn, spent summers in cali, one sister, 4 step-brothers, 2 step-sisters” answer?
or the full-blown “please don’t ask me to draw a family tree because you’ll never believe it” answer?
you see, i pause because, the way i see it, my family tree is…shall we say…detailed.
i’ll explain.
i grew up running around the twin cities with all my aunts, uncles and cousins.
holidays, birthdays, weekends – everyone was there.
when my mom or aunts/uncles needed a babysitter, they helped each other out.
for awhile, my mom, sister and i even lived right next door to one aunt/uncle/cousin trio.
how lucky was i to be able to have
two houses to run between to play at?!?
for a long time, family was of the “immediate” and “extended” variety.
then my parents both got re-married and instantly step-familia abounded.
all very cool.
[fast forward about 10 years]
my grandma is moving into a new house.
as she is chatting with the current owners – a wonderful and very
pregnant young couple – she finds out they are building a house in my neighborhood.
“how convenient.
my granddaughter lives just up the street and absolutely
loves kids.
you should give her a call some time.”
i don’t think the three of them could have realized the impact her offer would have: 15 years later, they are as much my family as can be.
even this “addition” seemed pretty normal, though.
it wasn’t until i moved out east for college that i learned the biggest lesson about the shape of a family.
for a
super family-oriented girl, being 1,000 miles away from my nucleus was a total shock.
i didn’t get to go home for every holiday, and when i was stressed or sad or excited, i couldn’t just run upstairs for a hug from my mom.
what i
did have, however, was wonderfully loving friends.
friends who took me home to share their families and their holiday traditions with me.
friends that wanted nothing more than to listen when i needed to vent, run out for a midnight snack to ease stress, and celebrate any and every excitement.
without my even knowing it…my friends became my family, too.
[are you starting to see how the standard family tree outline might get a little out of hand?]
the third definition of family in the dictionary is this: “a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation.”
of all the branches on my family tree, the branch of fellowship consistently has the most new buds on it.
it is beautiful, thriving, and constantly brings new life to my existing family.
about a month ago, over 30 new buds appeared on this branch when i joined the september world race team.
hebrews 2:11 says “both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. so Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”
in the awesome way that only God can, He crosses our paths with people that round out our families just when we need it…often when we least expect it.
this next year will be a time of tremendous growth for all of us – as individuals and as a family.
we will lift one another up in times of weakness and brokenness.
we will pour love over each other.
we will challenge and we will be challenged.
we will drive each other nuts.
we will sleep on, lean on and cry on each others’ shoulders. we will laugh together.
we will share meals, stories and prayer.
we will be servants together.
we will honor each other and share our Heavenly Father’s incredible love with the world.
we will see miracles.
i suppose that spending the next year gallivanting around the world together is not only going to make that afore mentioned 1,000 mile gap look like a nice stroll down the block…it’ll bear fruit for a lifetime of support, love and fellowship, too.
so…maybe I’m not well-suited for a family tree after all.
maybe a family orchard?
