Thankful for Family

Today I am so thankful for my family. My sisters and I became orphans in 2006 when our father joined our dear mother in heaven. Mama died in 1999. The years following were some of the hardest times I ever endured. But here I am. Though I will never get over the loss of my parents, I am blessed to have three sisters. Together we stand strong, holding each other up in love and in prayer.

On Saturday we gathered for our sister thanksgiving day. It has been a rough year. A sister's broken hip, another sister's knee replacement, my husband's cancer recurrence and treatments, the difficult adjustment to a nursing home by one sister and her husband, and the signs of dementia in another sister. Yet, we are able to smile as we gather together.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be," (Psalm 139:13-16 NIV).

Lord God, thank You for creating families. I am so blessed to share beginnings and history with my siblings. We can laugh and cry together without saying a word. That's the way it is with You, too. You know everything about us without us speaking a single sentence. We are Your children. We are never orphans. We are in the family of God. We thank You for the blessings You bestow. Be with us today as we walk with Jesus and praise You. Amen.

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