In many parts of Canada, Family Day (Jour de la famille in Quebec) is celebrated on the third Monday of February. Not only does it provide a day off in the middle of winter, its real purpose is to remind us of, and to celebrate with, those who constitute “family” for us.
As usual, I looked for dictionary meanings and here’s what I came up: first, “a group of one or more parents and their children living together as a unit.” It doesn’t take any thinking to realize that definition isn’t nearly broad enough in today’s society but it’s a beginning.
The second definition that popped up on my computer screen read like this: “all the descendants of a common ancestor”. Well that certainly describes the wonderful family I married into but it also indicates that members of our “brood” extend into countless countries, centuries and contexts.
A third definition given lists “a group of related things” thus making folks with no blood or ancestral relationship, members of a family. Hmm, that does describe how I feel about our immediate neighbourhood. Though we rarely see each other except in passing, I wouldn’t hesitate to call on anyone who lives on our street and in the same block as us if I was in real need.
My church family has always been a vital part of my life. While there’s no such thing as a perfect church, total unity of doctrine or complete personal compatibility, our “family” worships together as a unit. We’re all believers through a common Saviour and I feel related to them as brothers and sisters. Sadly, not everyone finds themselves in that situation but I pray each of you, my readers, will find such a God honouring home.
“Praise God for the privilege of being in Christ’s family ….” 1 Peter 4:16
