the joy of family

Over the weekend we all gathered in Lexington, Kentucky for the Young Family Reunion. This is my wife’s mother’s family. Nora was one of nine sisters, one died very early in life, but the other eight have become some what legendary in our family. Today only five remain with us. Every couple of years we gather to honor the family and enjoy each others company. The little ones are the most fun to watch as they make new life long friends with their cousins. Above Gracie Scott embraces my youngest grandchild Abigail Brooklyn Fortney, Wes and Rhonda’s daughter.

Sherelene and I were so proud to have all our children, their spouses and all six grandchildren at the event, no small task! The older I get the more I realize just how important family is. I had an older member of the family once tell me, “when everyone else has abandoned you family will still be there.” That’s true and as we toil through life trying to provide for our families we need to remember that giving them our time and love is even more important than making money.

I’ve been so blessed to enjoy such
a great family. The other night
we went down to the lake during
the last two hours of light of the
day. We took our pontoon boat
over to one of the large rock
formations in Laurel Lake and let
the kids jump on a ten foot high
out crop to the water. As the
entire family floated on life
jackets and watched the kids
scream with joy as they dropped
into the water, I realized how the
simplest of pleasures can bring so
much joy. We often loose sight of how much just spending time together means to a family, especially the little ones. I’m sure that the memory of that evening in the lake will loom large as they grow older. A highlight for me was just sitting and watching everyone have such a great time.
I also loved the loud applause from all the family when I jumped!

Today’s prayer: Father thank you so much that you’ve blessed me so far beyond anything I deserve. My family is my greatest earthly treasure and I could never praise you enough for blessing me with them. Please help me to be the kind of husband, father, and grandfather they deserve. Amen.