Today
Health
Abode
Necessities and niceties
This week, I am once again thankful for two more things. For one thing, it's hard to limit myself to just one idea per week, and second, these words always sound good together, (especially when Chevy Chase lisps them, "The most enduring traditions of the season are best enjoyed in the warm embrace of kith and kin. Thith tree is a thymbol of the the thspirit of the Grithwold family Chrithmath.") Yes, today I'm thankful for ...
kith and kin
Or better known in modern English as friends and family. We choose our friends, but fate has a hand in things, determining our pool of potential acquaintances based on where we live, go to school, work, work out, worship, etc.
We have even less say about who's in our family: we're all born into one, and many of us marry into another. We get what we get (and they get us, too.)
No matter how we wind up with them, friends and family provide the stuffing that makes our lives full and rich: love, laughter, tears, even heartache, pain...and the hope of reconciliation. The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 shows us the enduring and fierce love of family, which is only a mere reflection of God's love for us, and I especially love imagining the scene where a humbled, broken son returns to find his father was always waiting and watching for him:
We have even less say about who's in our family: we're all born into one, and many of us marry into another. We get what we get (and they get us, too.)
No matter how we wind up with them, friends and family provide the stuffing that makes our lives full and rich: love, laughter, tears, even heartache, pain...and the hope of reconciliation. The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 shows us the enduring and fierce love of family, which is only a mere reflection of God's love for us, and I especially love imagining the scene where a humbled, broken son returns to find his father was always waiting and watching for him:
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw
him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw
his arms around him and kissed him..."
 |
| Norman Rockwell never met the Griswolds. |
Maybe that's why I'm so fond of this particular Christmas movie: it shows the best and worst of holiday togetherness, and in the end, love for family trumps everything else.
Because no matter what, the bonds of family and friends are the ties that bind us until we are loosed from this earth.
Have you hugged or called a friend or family member today? Whatcha waiting for? Only two weeks left before the tryptophan hits and you'll be too tired to do more than slouch on the couch and dream of pie!
Happy thanks-giving,
