Family

by Kate Hasson

As I sit in my paternal grandmother’s computer room typing away I hear the familiar sounds and smell the familiar scents I have known all my life. Nana is laughing to Aunt Barbara’s stories. Aunt Janet is playing with the girls. Aunt Betty went to go get Starbucks for all. I awoke a few times last night and breathed in the wonderful scent of Nana…my mind was flooded with memories. Pictures of all our family as we’ve grown through the years grace the walls of her home. Honestly, this place, with these people, could probably be the most comforting and enjoyable place in the world to me.

And what makes it most special of all is that every single one of us knows Christ as our Savior. We’ll have family worship in the morning together with Nana’s beautiful piano playing accompanying our voices. Dad will probably do some devotional and then we’ll pray together. Thanksgiving brings a time of praise to the Lord around the table, not just common talk. My heart is fed here, my belly is fed here, and my soul is fed here. God is so good to give us family. People who, even if we’ve not seen in a year or more, will know us inside and out, and love us unconditionally.

The verse that came to my mind when thinking of family is Deuteronomy 6: 4-9

“4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

As family we get to love each other intimately and oh, how it makes the relationship that much more sweet. We get to love each other deeply by the power of Christ. I will always treasure talking of the commandments of the Lord with this family “as we sit at home, walk along the road, lie down and get up. Thank you, Jesus.