I've been thinking about families. Some of this comes from so far three nights of watching The Roosevelts. Some comes from the disastrous news stories from NFL players. Some comes from the travails of a friend of mine, who is having a tough time with new neighbors not accepting his family (two men, a mixed-race young girl, and an ever-changing group of foster kids). And some comes from that Honey Maid Graham Cracker commercial showing a variety of families living, growing together and supporting one another.
So what constitutes a family? I'm not sure the old image of a man, a woman, and 2.3 kids ever really was true. Oh, for some it was, but many families even then had more or fewer children, or they had grandparents living with them, or they had nieces or nephews or even neighbor children somewhere in the house. Maybe just as the old saying goes: home is where the heart is, maybe a new one could be: family is whoever loves and is loved by you.
God who loves beyond anything we can imagine, we give you thanks for the families into which you have called us. Some are the families of our birth, some are families which have raised us, some are families of friends we have gathered around us, and some are church families. You send us these people to help us to live and to grow and to mature both in life and in our faith. We thank you that we are part of your greater family of children around the world. Give us grace to include all your children in what we understand to be our family...
So what constitutes a family? I'm not sure the old image of a man, a woman, and 2.3 kids ever really was true. Oh, for some it was, but many families even then had more or fewer children, or they had grandparents living with them, or they had nieces or nephews or even neighbor children somewhere in the house. Maybe just as the old saying goes: home is where the heart is, maybe a new one could be: family is whoever loves and is loved by you.
God who loves beyond anything we can imagine, we give you thanks for the families into which you have called us. Some are the families of our birth, some are families which have raised us, some are families of friends we have gathered around us, and some are church families. You send us these people to help us to live and to grow and to mature both in life and in our faith. We thank you that we are part of your greater family of children around the world. Give us grace to include all your children in what we understand to be our family...
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