Family...You Gotta Love 'Em

Family...we take them for granted until a crisis comes and the unthinkable crosses our minds. If we live any distance apart we know they're only a phone call away, a days' drive or we can hop on a plane and see their sweet faces and all will be right in our world.

I know all too well the facts of life can be harsh where family is concerned and yet I, even I, take them for granted. Makes me want to turn myself over my own knee and give myself a spankin'. I should know better.



Ruth(l) Alice(r)
Mom
(Circa 1954)

I have very few close family members left on my mom's side of the family. She came from a large family that scattered to different states. Her older sister, Virginia, moved back to West Virginia to my hometown from Florida, to help care for Mom when her cancer returned. Virginia was fourteen years older and more like a mother figure to her in many ways. They were very close. Her daughters, Alice and Ruth, were a few years younger than Mom so she spent a lot of time with them as they were growing up.

Mom loved her family dearly. She was constantly trying to get them together for a family reunion, even as sick as she was. Sadly, the last time they were all together was her funeral.

After Mom's death, Aunt Jenny(Virginia) gave me a home when my dad remarried. From one generation to the next, she was taking care of her family.

Uncle Roy, Aunt Jenny, Mom, Ruth(holding Doug)
Me on the left(goofy grin),
Debby, youngest daughter, died in Feb.2011
Circa 1964 

This past weekend I drove to West Virginia to visit my cousin, Ruth, who had surgery for a serious medical issue. While driving, I had time to think of family...of those no longer with us...those whose lives have made an impact on me as a child and even now as an adult. Our family is filled with an unusual amount of tragedy, cancer, addictions and trauma. And yet, there is a remnant of God's faithfulness.

My mom had a special relationship with her nieces, Alice and Ruth. When I went into ICU that Friday evening and saw the smile on Ruth's beautiful face, the face that looks so much like my mother's, the trip was worth every mile driven.

God left a remnant of her and her faithfulness to Him when He left me in the care of her sister, Virginia. Now, her daughters, Ruth and Alice, are the bearers of that remnant of faithfulness. They are the reminder to me, that God hasn't forgotten my mother's faithfulness to Him. They remind me of my place in my earthly family. They remind me that I am loved. My mother would be so proud of them for the way they have treated her daughter. And so would their mother, Virginia.

Who do you need to love on? Is there a lost child in your family that may need a reminder of their worth? Every child needs to know they're part of a family. There isn't an age limit either. So, go love on your family. Forgive those who have hurt you. Life is too short to do otherwise.

If you'd like to share your family stories, I'd love to hear them.

Blessings from My Little Corner,
Cindy

P.S. My heartfelt thanks to all who prayed for my cousin last week. Her surgery went well and she will be out of the hospital soon. Now the waiting...