All in a Family

Agree with me or not, God designs; and what He designs is good. With this week of rest has come the ability to remember. And as my thoughts have traveled over the past year, I have been caught by the change that has come about in my life - physically, mentally and spiritually. But more so, I have noticed the value and role of family in all that change - mostly grandparents. In my mind, I firmly believe that last fall was the time-frame that I moved from being a guy into a man; and that is not because I learned (kinda) how to live apart from my parents, but because of the spiritual and mental maturity that came to be mine during that time. What I was able to discern this last week was that the maturity that I found, was really given to me by the Holy Spirit working through my grandparents as they lived with me each day and spoke truth into my broken mind. Their influence changed me; and because of their obedience to God, I am in a position today to deal with the struggles of cancer in the way that I have. In light of this, I have re-written that cute little phrase that grandmother's like to hang on plaques above the sink (or written on little pictures on the wall). That is - Grandparents are a gift from the Lord.


So what am I really saying? Well, I'm trying to say that God designed family, and He designed it with a purpose. And that purpose accomplishes many things when it functions in the way He designed it. To say it simply; God knows the value of grandparents, of the older generation teaching the younger, and He has blessed me with Mema and Papa (and blessed me through them). For they were (and have been) a witness of God's love to me, a beacon of His light in the darkness around me, and part of His hand changing me into the man that He created me to be. And that is the benefit in God's design of family.  

Thank you God for Family...