May 24, 2020

We Are Family

I am looking forward to an empty nest. It isn’t that I do not
love my children or that I will not miss them. I am simply
looking forward to catching up on life. I look forward to
times when there is no one else there except for my wife. It
will be a time to ourselves that I hope will be time well
spent. I look forward to the days when my children will
visit (with grandchildren, I hope!). There will be occasions
we visit them as well (to see grandchildren, I hope!). The
truth is, even though we will not be living in the same
house, we will never be too far from one another. We
belong to each other no matter what.

That is how it is with family. When we become disciples of
Jesus Christ, we belong to him. We are family. Our greatest
gift to give is our very selves to one another. Jesus gave all
of himself to us. Even though he ascended to his Heavenly
Father, he remains with us in love and grace, especially in
the Holy Eucharist. He has shown us how to love and how
to be family. Even when we cannot see him, Jesus remains
with us. Hopefully, we can follow in that example and give
of ourselves fully and be there for those we love whenever
they need us, especially if they need us to watch the
grandchildren. (It is a ways away, but I want to plant the
seeds now!)

Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS ©LPi