Real Family

This past Saturday night and Sunday morning flew by in a flurry of activity. I ran around making the guest beds, putting away all the laundry, vacuuming, sweeping, buying a few extra groceries and cleaning up the general 'clutter' in my house......that's right I had company coming. The best kind of company though, my family!!
My mom, sister-in-law and two nieces came for a few days and though I made some special efforts to get the house ready, I knew that the kids (ages 3, 2, 1 &1/2 and 8 months collectively) would quickly undo any straightening and spread their own decor of toys, chaos and fun! They did, and it was wonderful. I love the chaos of family. I may have done a little extra work to prepare for their coming, but found that I did hardly any work while they were here.

When a child cried, Nana was there to hug them or their uncle danced around to make them laugh. When kids fought over a toy, a mom was there to 'remind' them to use kind words and share. The women helped in the kitchen so much that I feel like I hardly cooked or did any dishes. Everyone was always ready to help a toddler off the potty, hold the baby, run to the store for 'soft' tissues to soothe a sore nose or just sit and read a book.

I loved seeing the children laugh and hug their cousins and enjoyed getting to reminisce, play games and just laugh with the adults after the kids were in bed. The best thing about being with family though, is knowing that they love you, just as you are. Your family doesn't care what you look like when you roll out of bed in the morning, they are just glad that you are there. They don't mind if your house is messy, they are just thankful to be under one roof. When you are sad, your family is ready to hug you, cheer you up or just be with you. If you say something stupid your family knows when to laugh with and when to just pretend they did not hear it. When you make a mistake, your family forgives you because they know you are not perfect, in fact they know most of your flaws. Your family sees you at your best and your worst....and still loves you.
I am so grateful to have a family like this, a real family in every sense of the word. It makes me think of how I treat my family in Christ. Is my church family a real family? As brothers and sisters in Christ, do we put aside outward appearance/pretense and and love each other. Are we ready to give a hug, forgive each other, or just sit with someone for no reason other than the fact that they are part of our family? Do we love when we see someone at their worst?

Let's take the time as we head into the holiday season to show real love to our families.