Family Time is the Best Time

The past few days we have been enjoying something that does not happen often enough...a visit from our #2 son who lives far away in Maine...and the joy and privilege of having our nuclear family all together again.  I define "nuclear family" as our original family unit...my husband and me and our three sons.  Our family has grown beyond that in that son #2 is happily married and has a wonderful wife and son too...our only grandchild...but they were not able to travel with him for this trip.  So it is just us...Dad and Mom and our three adult sons. 

I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful this visit has been for us.  The last time we were all together was just exactly one year ago, for my father's memorial service.  Obviously that was not the most ideal time for a happy visit...even though we enjoyed our time together and treasured every moment...there was still an undertone of sadness that cast a pall over our time together. Sadly, it seems as though the older we get, the only occasions many families do get together is for either a funeral or perhaps a wedding or a holiday...but rarely just for the fun of it.

That is why we determined that we were going to change this trend for our family.  Until that sorrowful event last year, we had not all been under the same roof at the same time in quite a long time.  It wasn't for lack of love for each other...but due to circumstances beyond their (and our) control.

So we have been doing exactly what we enjoy doing most...just being together.  We've spent some time outdoors fishing in a quiet peaceful setting...we've enjoyed laughing and eating and talking, eating, talking and laughing...and being family. 'Cause that's what families do...

I wonder what it is about food and family that seems to bring us together...I mean, think about it...most of my fondest memories of family life revolve around times spent around the table together...Thanksgiving, Birthdays, Christmas, 4th of July, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day...you name it...our celebrations of these special events all center on the kinds of food we eat...the special desserts, traditional holiday dishes, and the love that goes into preparing those feasts.  Is it really the food that we eat that makes the event so special?  Or, is it the fact that we are together...around a table, or in chairs on a patio, or even at a restaurant...and the food is merely the innocent bystander to a feast of love shared between people who have common roots, ancestry and traditions...giving us a communal backdrop to something much sweeter and deeper...family ties. 

This is not a new thing for this generation...trace your roots and you will find that food played a major role in the histories of  our ancestries...all the way back to Adam and Eve and the original apple.  It's a tradition that is biblical for families and God-fearing people since time began.

Look at the early church in the 2nd Chapter of Acts...the new believers joined in communion together "breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart..."  Acts 2:46. 

Then skip ahead to the future kingdom days in heaven...and the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb"...(Revelation 19:7-10)...when we who trust and believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord will be invited to sit down at that banquet table with all the saints of old and enjoy the ultimate feast with our eternal family and the Lamb of God, Who has taken away the sins of the world...Oh, that will be a glorious day...a family reunion that will never end.

Think about the happy times you've shared with your loved ones...did food play a part? Did it really matter if you had the best of gourmet dinners and shimmering desserts served on exquisite china and crystal?  Or was the food and laughter just as wonderful served on paper plates and picnic tables? The important thing is being together...and not waiting for the funerals or holidays to make it happen.  None of us can guarantee tomorrow...don't wait too long...do whatever it takes to make it happen.  You will be glad you did.