The porch railing wore red, white, and blue bunting that day, and behind it stood almost every person I love. Kids in USA shirts leaned against the rail, my husband held Avery, who was then a toddler, up for the camera, and the sun caught us all mid-laugh. We’ve added more grandchildren and great-nieces and nephews since that picture, enough that the deck would need another support beam to hold us now. This 2021 photo makes me smile.
A House Full of Opinions
My parents raised five of us kids in a house full of opinions, but I cannot remember the last time a disagreement turned into a grudge. Mom and Dad taught us to love each other louder than we disagreed, and they taught us to love God before anything else. Watching my nieces and nephews step into that same rhythm, showing up for each other and each other’s kids, praying over hard diagnoses and decisions, driving hours for a gathering, tells me the lesson took.
My parents gave us each other, and decades later, we’re still showing up.
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What Family Sacrifice Looks Like
First John 3:16 says, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” Family sacrifice at our house rarely looks like reality TV. Most days it looks like answering a midnight phone call, sitting through a church program your grandchild forgot half the lines to, or letting go of something said that nobody mentions again (that one is key, by the way).
Still Here, Still Waiting
One face in that photo belongs to my brother-in-law, who’s in Heaven now. I still reach for that picture when I want to see him laugh again. This year, when the fireworks finish, I’ll think less about flags and more about the people who stood behind that bunting, the ones still here and the one waiting for us on the other side. My parents gave us each other, and decades later, we’re still showing up.
Happy July 4
Happy Independence Day to you!