Family Ties Are Binding Us Closer and the beds in my house are all full tonight.

Family is everything! And the family ties, those strong invisible bonds running across the decades, are being reinforced by a quick weekend visit. Books lie strewn across the floor and a lone sock missing its twin conjures up dusty old recollections of years long ago. These rise in memory like mist from a pond floating upward in the light of a new day. In my mind’s eye I see my own children once this small. I close my eyes and recall the feel of their silky hair as I ruffle it while bending down to kiss them goodnight. Etched in memory like it was last night.

The big Guest king bed is covered in kid, three of them sprawl out and still don’t overlap. None of them reach to half its length. In my Art Studio two older girls have set up camp. Colorful beads and copper wires will cover my art table before I’ve had coffee tomorrow morning. For the next two weeks I’ll find the lost beads with the powerhead of the vacuum; tiny spheres ricocheting up the metal wand, swooshed away by a current of air. But the memory of young gangly girls laughing and making a huge mess reminds me of their two aunts who did the same three decades ago.

This is family. A human cord reaching back to the old and being pulled forward by the young. Connecting us to our past and showing us the future. A gift from God that gives deep meaning and purpose to our lives. For most of us, parenting and grand-parenting are the longest and most important undertakings of life. It matters that we give it our full attention and keep summing up the strength and stamina to build strong enduring family ties.

A good man (and of course woman) leaves an inheritance to his or her children’s children. . .
Proverbs 13:22

That inheritance doesn’t mean only money.
It should first mean a stake in faith in God, and a solid model of Christian living. Family should be as Edith Schaeffer described it, a passing on of the baton of truth. Handing off to the next generation the truth they will need for establishing a friendship with God and becoming true disciples of Jesus Christ.

As I look at these grandkids sleeping and listen to their older sisters laughing a prayer of thanksgiving for the whole experience squeezes out of my heart and through my lips. Thank You for family.
It was all so good.
It still is.

I want to remind young parents that you’re not in this alone. It doesn’t all rest on your shoulders. I know it often feels that way, but here’s a post from a series on The Proverbs 31 Woman that will encourage you.

https://kellyjgrace.com/how-to-be-a-blessing-to-your-kids/

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