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(Not my actual family)
3 Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from him.
4 Children born to a young man
are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.
5 How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!
He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.
Psalm 127:3-5
We have all heard the saying, “You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family.” Thank God that He chose our family because if we’re all honest, we would have chosen the wrong people! I know there are some we sometimes wish would fall out of the family tree but I believe that everyone in our family has a gift that God wants us to receive from them.
We don’t even realize what a miracle it is that God chose our parents specifically to ensure that we were born, AND He did that for every generation before us!
I woke up thinking about my family this morning. How each person is unique and how much I received from them and how much I love them. I don’t think I thank God enough for the family that He gave to me.
My Granny Krenzer gave me a love for gardening and dessert. I love warm, sweet cream of wheat in a glass with milk and a straw, tapioca pudding, and french toast with grape jelly. A gift from her that I have been able to give my children and grandchildren.
My Papaw Cox gave me a love for watermelon pulled right out of the garden, bluegrass music and the knowledge that the truth can be told to someone if you add a little humor to it. I’m sure my Granny Teeny didn’t always see the humor in it though!
My Granny Teeny gave me the gift of thrifty-ness, crafty-ness, the only homemade biscuits I ever liked, and how to make beautiful things out of someone else’s junk.
My Daddy gave me the gift of appreciating my family heritage and where we came from. He gave me the gift of excellent aim, he is a help when I need it and he has been living proof for me to see the Goodness of God at work in a person. If you don’t believe God can change you or your life, you need to talk to my Daddy.
My Mama gave me the gift of the Spirit of Goodness. She gave me the gift of music and dancing in the living room, she gave me a love for books, reading and studying, and appreciating the art in books. She gave me the proof that anyone can accomplish anything in life, survive anything in life, and the gift of loving all of my family. She has shown me how to have genuine love for others, even those that hurt you. There are too many gifts from her to list here but I will make a list to share with her so she knows I received them.
My Aunt Betty gave me the gift of loving the beach, the smell of tanning lotion, and of knowing that even if you’re far away your love for family is still just as strong.
My Uncle Al and Aunt Judy gave me the gift of gentleness, kindness and conversation as a child and an adult. They never considered that a child should be seen and not heard.
My Uncle Hugh gave me the gift of seeing someone work hard for his family but always making sure his family played hard too. He made time for both.
My Aunt Peggy gave me the gift of loving 98 degrees days, doing hair, and growing flowers. If I have any prissy-ness, it came from her. She also gave me the gift of loving family and she and Mama keep alive a lot of gifts they received from Granny and still share them with us.
My Uncle Donnie gave me the gift of entrepreneurship, a gift I’m sure he got from Granny! He taught me that there is the ability to start with a paperclip and continue to trade up to a treadmill. I stopped at the treadmill but he can keep trading bigger and better! He gave me the gift of humor in every circumstance and the know how to get out of a couple jams.
My Aunt Wanda gave me the gift of laughter, knowing how to endure seasons in life, how to love through hard times, how to be faithful without showing bitterness, and how to see the good in people and covering the not so good.
My cousins gave me the gift of brothers and sisters when I didn’t have any yet. They are my oldest friends, the best secret keepers, they are the most fun we can have in families. We get to share our parents and grandparents and the love and gifts we got from all of them. We get to share our heritage.
My Brothers gave me the gift of survival. Survival of the fittest is something I learned before school. They give me the gift of sharing and loving someone as much as it is possible to love someone. They give me the gift of loving their children and them loving my children. They give me the gift of seeing them in our children, and grandchildren and they give me the gift of our parents' legacies continuing to live in us and every generation after us.
Psalm 46 says “God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.”
God also made brothers and sisters to be that for each other.
My Husband and children have given me more than I have words to say and I will say those words to them every chance I get.
It’s my prayer that God speaks to you about the gift of family the way He spoke to me, and how important it is to tell them how important they are while we are still here together. Maybe it’s because tonight is our family dinner night that I’m feeling my love and gratitude for my family so much or maybe because He is letting me know that He chose the best family for me and I need to appreciate them and tell them how much I love them. I need to think about the gifts I’m sharing with each one of them and that it should be the BEST gifts I have.
I also don’t want to forget that God does allow us to choose some family.
Psalm 18:24 says “There are “friends” who destroy each other,
but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.”
We all have chosen family, friends that are brothers and sisters, let’s thank God for placing them in our lives and what we have received from them too.
If I close my eyes and listen, I can hear each family member say to me, "What'cha been doing Crystal Lynn?" <3
To all of my given family and chosen family, I want you to know how much I love and appreciate you. Distance in miles may be between us but you are all in my heart. I thank God for giving me YOU!
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