We All Just Needed Someone to Love, So God Made a Family
And on the 8th day, God looked down on the good earth he made and said, “I need people to love and care for each other.”
So, God made a family.
God said “I need a lot of somebodies to show the world what it means to weave hearts, to shape souls, and to stubbornly stick together when you’re tempted to give up.”
He needed whole units, each with a strong, beating heart. Strong enough to pray in the doctor’s waiting room, run on black coffee, jump into the fray, stand up for the underdog, … and to gather shoulder-to-shoulder, at the edge of the soccer field, the auditorium, the hospital bed, the communion rail.
So, God made a family.
He said he needed somebody with a sense of humor. Humor enough to tuck a kid in at 8:30 p.m., get her a drink at 8:32, do the re-tuck at 8:34, check for monsters in the closet at 8:53, and under the bed at 8:57, rub tiny circles into her skinny back at 9:20, and then drift off next to her in the middle of your prayers.
So God made a family.
He said, “I need somebody to hold babies, hold hands across busy streets, hold a kid’s hair when she’s bent over the toilet, hold down the bleachers, hold court around the kitchen table, hold vigil in the living room, hold out for miracles, and hold tight to each other and to the sacred truth.”
He needed people to offer grace when the loudest relatives come over for Sunday dinner, when your mom sends a very long and incomprehensibly auto-corrected text message, and when the crazy uncle leaves embarrassing comments on all your Facebook statuses.
He needed people to prove that relationships can survive if all the hot water runs out, if someone ate the last PopTart, if she breathed his air, and if your brother crossed the imaginary line drawn on the back seat of the car.
God knew people would need somebody to tell you that you have spaghetti sauce on your chin, spinach in your teeth, Playdoh in your hair, or toilet paper stuck to your shoe.
He said the world needed kind places, in an unkind world, to unravel the knots … a place where people could break down and get built back up again, so they could head out into a dark world in need of more light.
So God made a family.
He said, “I need people who will keep on loving when the skin sags, and the muscles atrophy, and the heart weakens, and the last breaths leave the body.”
He needed people who will sing and cry,
and laugh and sigh …
and who will decide right then,
that death won’t have the last word,
and that life is still worth living right now,
and the world needs more babies,
and more crazy uncles,
and more Sunday dinners,
and more moments when you curl up together under the same blanket,
after a long summer day,
and drift off to sleep,
while you’re thanking the good Lord that God made a family.
Today’s story inspired by Paul Harvey’s “When God Made a Farmer.”
#TellHisStory
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Our featured writer this week is Lisa Murray. I can’t tell you how much her words resonate with me. Her blog post is titled Because The Striver In All Of Us Needs A Place To Rest and I highly encourage you to take a few minutes to read the truth she shares. Find Lisa here.
To be considered as our featured writer, be sure to use our badge or a link to my blog from your post. xo Jennifer
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What a lovely tribute to families!
I like this!
Thanks for hosting!
And this is why I love summer — so many reasons for families to gather, bringing with us all the glory and all the chaos.
Yay for families and that I am part of a family!
I, too, am so grateful for my family–for the inside jokes, the memories, and the love that binds us together no matter what. Praise God for inventing family!
One of your best pieces, dear Jennifer, and while you know I adore your writing, I sense what makes this piece so inspiring is the family behind it (and the Lord, notwithstanding). Love you *and* your family. Little Lydia and Anna are adorable. What a precious princess photo. I know you are savoring every moment. They fleet too quickly.
Love
Lynn
Love it, Jennifer! I especially love the graphic. Building up family loyalty is such a virtue and one that needs lots of tender encouragement.
and toilet paper on your shoe… every word of this is healingly (I’ve been known to makeup words) good. The older I get? The truer it is! Well said, Jennifer, well said.
Loved this post! Thanking Him this morning for making family – each family – tailored made uniquely. Well said, Jennifer!
Beautiful. Just beautiful! Happy to share on Facebook!
What a huge blessing families are! Your post made me smile!
Sharing it on Facebook:)
That was really lovely, Jennifer, and the pictures with your girls being silly in the background really added to the post.
I am so glad that God made families. The pictures of your girls is priceless.