Family

This past weekend I had the honor and privilege of officiating my “little sister’s” wedding. Terra is not my biological sister, but she has become my sister over the last 16 years. Terra’s family invited me to become a part of their family not long after my mother past away. Missy & Bobbie (Mom & Dad), Keith, Sarah, and Terra have become family.

My in-laws took our children for the weekend so that my wife and I could be a part of this weekend. It was interesting driving around my home town and seeing the changes that have taken place over the past few years. Since my wife and I were childless for the weekend, we had opportunities to visit with family and friends that we had not had a chance to really visit with in awhile (because we are usually chasing 4 kids around).

To be honest I was a little nervous as I prepared to stand before family and friends (many of whom I had not seen in some time) as Terra and her fiancé, Tyler joined their lives together. Tyler not only committed to share the rest of his life with Terra, but also to Terra’s almost 7 year old little girl, Gracie. They included Gracie in the wedding ceremony and in the reception after. Tyler not only proclaimed his vows to Terra, but he also got down on his knees and offered vows to Gracie. Tyler and Terra exchanged rings and gave Gracie a charm bracelet with special charms that will remind her of them coming together as a family.

It was a privilege to watch Tyler’s and Terra’s faces as we rehearsed the ceremony and then as we preformed the ceremony. There were expressions of relief on their faces; this day is finally here, and all our planning and work and stress have finally come to fruition. There were expressions of joy and love as they professed before family and friends their commitment to each other. There were also expressions that are hard to put into words, but I think I have an idea of what some of the expressions were…

No matter how much premarital counseling Tyler and Terra had, no matter how much advice given to them before their big day, they will be facing things they never could have prepared themselves for. When you become family you don’t know what exactly that means for the future, you might have an idea of what it means here and now, but very little of the twists and turns that come because you have chosen to share your life with others…

Missy & Bobbie could not have expected everything that has happened over the past 16 years when they invited me to be a part of their family. My wife and I could never have expected everything that has happened over the past 10 years when we made a decision to become a family. Tyler and Terra cannot expect everything that will happen over the rest of their lives as they make decisions to be a family.

We may not know the good or the bad the future holds, but that is not what really matters. What really matters is that we have made a decision to share our lives with other people who become “family”. Sometimes that decision takes everything we have to stay committed to it. At other times it is the easiest thing we have ever done. Who have you chosen to share your life with? Who has become a part of your family, or “family”? Take some time during these seasons of Advent and Christmas to thank them for being a part of your life, for sharing their life with you, and for walking with you through the good and bad of this journey of life.