Aunt Vic holding Baby Greer
Last week one of my favorite people met our Lord! The exclamation point is a reminder that it was a time of joy for her and that is exactly why she is one of my favorite people. To be correct, she is one of eight of my favorite people. She came as a package...let me explain.
My granddaddy was one of eight children, and they are ALL some of my favorite people!
My Aunt Vic went to heaven last week. She was the "mother hen" and oldest child. She was a hard worker (as they all were), but most visibly seen in the fact that she refused to retire until she was physically unable to work. She was wonderfully encouraging when Chad and I joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ, and even continued supporting the ministry when we pursued other directions with our careers. She loved God, read and studied His Word, and never spoke an unkind word about another person. As I think about all her wonderful qualities, the thing I find most surprising is how her memory "melts" into the siblings that she loved.
You see, each of them fit together. It is strange in our current society. How is it that they loved each other that much? That they were able to keep their brother's (Uncle Clyde) memory alive through 2 generations that never met him? How is it that they cared more for each other than they ever did for themselves? How is it that 8 children learn to walk with God and teach their children and their children's children? You may be surprised that there is an answer.
Today I was reading a book for a parenting Bible Study I attend, and found an answer. (By the way, the book is "Disciplines of a Godly Family" by Kent and Barbara Hughes.) They attribute "family affection" to three disciplines: loving God, loving each other, and communicating. I could spend a lot of time expounding, but I want you to buy the book and hear it from the Hughes'. Let me just paint the disciplines the way that I have seen them in my family.
Loving God...singing hymns with a room full of tone deaf people! (and trusting the Lord hears our heart), faithfulness to being a part of the body of Christ by attending church, reading God's Word and listening to godly teachers, praying for God to work in the lives of people you know and love. I have to admit that I have long-thought of my salvation as the fruit of prayers that were uttered by my family and specifically by my Great-Grandmother (mother of these 8). I only know what I have been told about her, and everyone has always told me how much she prayed. It is amazing to think of how she must have prayed for my granddaddy, then later my dad, and the children that he would one day have. Wow! What a legacy!
Loving each other...generosity, laughing together, caring for one another's health, feeding each other, knowing each other. My Great Uncle Clyde died in the Korean War. My dad was named after him, which in itself demonstrates love, but every time he is brought up in the midst of his siblings they say the same things...brilliant pianist, studying to be an architect (at Clemson), and a beam of pride comes over their faces. I could listen for hours as my family laughs and recalls all of the fun times they had growing up together. Such a picture of love!
Communicating...well, I will be convicted by this one for sure. I think that the reason that they know and love each other so much is that they shared undistracted time with each other. How often do I need to quiet my life to love the people around me! Ephesians 5:18-19 is true for their relationships, "addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all of your heart." I can just imagine the camaraderie that was built around the kitchen and playing baseball in the yard together.
Lots of thoughts, very jumbled in my mind, but I hope you get the jest of my heart. I hope that one day years from now, the things that I have observed about my family will be true of the generations that come after me. I am so blessed to have seen such godly examples, and I hope that I can be an example to others as well. Thank you, God, for a beautiful, joyful legacy of faith to follow.
A picture of Luke from last weekend