Family Ties

Growing up, I always had to have friends over because I was an only child. I constantly wanted a playmate. I wanted a sibling and always having special people over was as close as I could come!

As I got older, I did see the benefits to being an only child, but i still wished I had brothers and sisters.

Then came marriage. And I got more family than I ever thought that I would have. I am fortunate to have a MIL and FIL that I love and I get along with. And I am very lucky that my small family loves Frank and treats him just like a child of their own. Sometimes, they treat him better than their own. But, who's keeping tabs... I am not bitter at all..

My family doesn't look like what I always envisioned that it would. How God chooses certain people to belong together I will never comprehend. Sometimes I think it is more for a JOKE but that's a whole other post!

Yes, there is my immediate family. Made up of myself and Frank and all of the circus workers. Do you ever wonder how the same 2 people can produce such very different kids? I do. I wonder every time I look at them. Not necessarily in the way that they look, but in the way they act and their likes and dislikes. AND the way that they express those likes and dislikes if you know what I mean.

Then, I have my extended family. Made of up MIL and FIL and all of Frank's sisters and their families. And the 10,000 relatives that my husband has. Because truly, I do believe that somehow he is related to every human on the face of the earth!

But, then there is this whole other family. You see, I believe that what makes us family is not really blood relation at all. It is a common thread. Shared memories. Shared experiences. Something that ties your hearts together. And this family is special. Special because we are family by choice. People like Stephanie and Julie and Elizabeth. Emily and Katy and Starla. These people are much more than just friends. They are my family.

And then there's you... This blogging community continues to amaze me. The encouragement and love that I feel from many of you makes me so grateful. I feel like I know some of you so well. I feel like I am part of your lives in some small way. And I equally feel you as part of mine. There are many ways in which I am connected to some of you. But the one common thread that I see among most of us is JESUS. He is that something, that someone that ties our hearts together.

Mary over at Owlhaven said it best about family once when she said "After all, doesn't a family start with 2 people who aren't even related?"

So true, Mary, so true.

Family. I'm glad for mine. For all of mine.

These are the ties that bind... Ecclesiastes 4:12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.