This hand-me-down quilted kaleidoscope
this legacy of unorthodox saints all marching in
with the spirits of Joe and Dorothy on their knees
bed-side offerings knelt down and lifted up to you
like the sweet aroma of Grandma's roast
Great is Thy Faithfulness to us all
and I am humbled to be planted in such rich soil.
We are dog-eared hymnals and underlined bibles
"Oh Forevermore's" and pink shirt embroidery parades
echoing laughter floating out from above prominent chins
Thursday letters and detailed vacation photo captions
doxology melodies that link our hands, hearts and voices to You
we are quirky barber-shop-quartet-loving, piano-playin',
puppeteering, RV missionaries on the move,
We are teachers, preachers, counselors, soldiers,
truck-drivers, nurses, social workers, speakers, listeners
and forever students of life
We come to You from Germany and Kansas, Korea and Ohio
Puerto Rico and Florida, Indiana and Abu Dhabi,
From Tennessee, Illinois, Alabama, Connecticut
and wherever You call us from or send us to.
Our gestures are animated. Our voices are loud.
We have weird jokes, loud whistles, and wide grins.
We love puzzles, planning, and playing instruments,
We jump into silly card, token, dice, domino board games
only to be together and not keep score
All three sons now married 50 plus years
hand me down legacy of marriage the way You meant it to be
Slide shows and talent shows
5 minute skits that make us giggle and sniff
Tiny dogs that fit in bags and red trucks as big as Texas
And from test results for both young and old
that make us hold each other
a little longer and a little tighter
An expanding faith enclosed in our embraces
and choosing to trust Your love in our worry
with that misty picture of Joe and Dorothy
on their knees and in our hearts.
And we choose to offer this gift of family
back up to You
the root of our ever-growing family tree.
"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories. " ~George Eliot
"He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly." Acts 10:2
"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them." ~Desmond Tutu
"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."Joshua 24:15
"The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together."
~Erma Bombeck
"Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck." Proverbs 1:8
“A happy family is but an earlier heaven.” George Bernard Shaw
