Hello God, it's me, Mara

You know, Lord, a good New Year’s Resolution is to share our goals with our family — then we can work together toward accomplishing them. Oh! What IS family? A family is a needlepoint picture, threaded by people who are concerned with what

kind of stitch fills the adjoining squares, who care about the overall design and who are anxious that the yarn be knot-free and strong.

A family is a mobile, balanced but ever-changing, swinging free yet attached be a common string.

A family is a first-aid kit, filled with bandages and salve and even thermometers for monitoring all kinds of conditions.

A family is a terrarium, planted with ecological care so that each life is sustained in a warm, moist and growing environment.

A family is a toy “slinky,” spiraling down through history in a bouncing, carefree, yet predictable cylindrical curve.

A family is a cornucopia, open-ended and bountiful.

A family is a rainbow, arched by differences which only enhance the beauty of each colored layer.

A family is an umbrella, a wayside shelter, a lost and found center, a savings and loan, a complaint desk, a sounding board, a think tank, a school, a church, even a party!

But best of all, a family is a gift, like grace. We don’t have to deserve it to receive it.

To quote Robert Frost: “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”

We want our family to be safe and in a happy home, that’s our ultimate aim of all ambitions, a spot of earth that’s supremely blest.

Your word in Psalm 121:3-4, “He will never let me stumble, slip or fall. For He is always watching, never sleeping.” Thank You, Lord, that You protect us, our family, day and night; that You always keep Your eyes upon us and guard us, day and night.

Love, Mara