family

I can't help but be so grateful that God created the idea of the family.  On Friday, my mom, brother Josh, and sister Sarah, spent the whole day driving from South Carolina to spend a few days with us on their way up to Wyoming.  I was pretty excited to be able to spend some quality time with them. We didn't see much of the sights of Kansas City, opting instead to just spend time with one another.  And I thought how wonderful it is that we want to spend time with each other that way.  

I know families who don't get along, don't want to be with each other, don't celebrate with each other or share sorrows with one another.  And while seeing something like that makes me sad, I'm also grateful that my parents cultivated a sense of community among my siblings and I.  I can't imagine living a life without my family.  George's family is also very close, and I'm grateful to have that community here in KC.  I'm grateful that when George and I are blessed with children, they will witness and experience so much love and caring from our families.  They will know that they always have a place where they will be welcomed and loved, and that they will never be alone.  

 And I get to see them again next Wednesday, on the way back from Wyoming, this time with my dad and Mary.  Hopefully at Thanksgiving we will also have David with us!  Its amazing to see all of us kids choose our own paths, and venture out into the world, to grow and become the people God has designed us to be, and still want to be with each other! I miss my family often, but I also know that when George and I start our own family, I will know how to cultivate the kind of community that will both shelter them and encourage them as they grow!

How beautiful....is forgiveness

I (Emily) have thought a lot about forgiveness recently.  It is such a tremendous act that Jesus calls us to when he asks us to forgive.  It requires you to be truly selfless to really forgive, and in doing so, will bring you into closer communion with God.  That being said...it has also caused me to think about apologies. I read an article today in which a woman wondered why there weren't any sermons on apologizing.  And truthfully, I thought "Yeah, how come?"

But then I really started thinking. Apologies are not most valuable to us when we offer them, we value them more when someone gives them to us.  And while I do not profess to be any great scholar, it did occur to me that Jesus did not speak about how often people should apologize. Repentance, yes, but I'm not certain its the same as an apology.  Repentance can only be the result of a true willingness to examine ourselves and have remorse for our actions; to see the big picture and how we have affected others and our own souls. True repentance can't be faked.  Apologies on the other hand, can be insincere.  I have made apologies to end a fight, to get out of trouble, and because I knew I should, even though I didn't feel like it.

But then, just as I was getting bogged down in the "why can't so-and-so or what's-their-name ever apologize when they've wronged me?" I heard that little prompt (sidenote: how beautiful is that? that the Holy Spirit prompts us back toward God's path just when we need it?)  saying, "But isn't it greater to give than to receive?"  Right. Isn't it greater to give forgiveness than to receive an apology? That's a hard one.  We feel good, vindicated even, when someone apologizes to us; when others verbally acknowledge that they have wronged us.  I know I do.  I also find myself stewing over how I've been wronged, holding a grudge. 

 But is that how we serve each other? Not just spouses or friends...but all of humankind.  Jesus asks us to serve others. He doesn't specify whom.  And is there a better way to serve others than to truly let go of the things people have done to wrong us and forgive without an apology? Without repentance? I don't know, but when I consider it, even just open my heart a little bit to the possibility that forgiveness without apologies from another is better than an even exchange, I find it easier...and I know that God is flooding me with grace to let go of my bitterness. What a tremendous gift we've been given. The power to forgive selflessly; if we only ask for it.  How beautiful.