The World Is Our Family

Yesterday, our granddaughter, Katherine Maria, celebrated her 26th birthday.  I remember so well the day Katie was born.  She weighed in at just a little over 4 pounds that day of her arrival.  Since then, my little “Katydid” has grown to be a beautiful young woman.  In October, Katie and Liam will be married here in Maryland and they have asked “Grandad” to officiate at the wedding.  “MomMom,” with Katie’s assistance, is busy creating the wedding dress.

Back in February, we were in Flagstaff, Arizona, visiting with Ethan and Eleni, our two youngest grandchildren.  Just a month or so ago, I had lunch with grandson, Matt, up in Pennsylvania.  He was driving a big rig to Watkins Glen, NY and then on to Toronto.  Matt and Emily have a daughter, our first great granddaughter, and live some distance away.  In July, I was with Austin and Nick as we celebrated their birthdays (born on the same day, two years apart).  They are now back at their respective colleges.  Katie leaves this weekend for the UK to spend a month with Liam and his family before their big event.   Our family has no geographical boundaries these days.

This “little” world of family (your’s and mine) is a microcosm of the world at large.  It has its ups and downs and all the troubles, problems, and joys that go with “growing up”  and “becoming.”  No family is immune—“life” tumbles in”—just as it does in the wider world.  I do not know of any family that is not dysfunctional (“not operating normally or properly”—is there a normal or a proper?) in some way or another, mine included.  But, we are bound together by love and we hold together in spite of whatever comes along, no matter how well or how poorly we handle it, no matter the geographical boundaries.    

John Wesley said, “The world is my parish.”  We need to come to the place where we can say, “The world is my family.”  My “grandchildren” are those little ones being rescued out of the flood  waters in Texas and Louisiana today.  My “children” are those huddled in refuge camps in Syria.  My “brothers and sisters” are those who struggle for life anywhere, everywhere, regardless of creed, race, or nationality.  We grow, become, and thrive only when we reach out to take others into “the family.”  “Enlarge the limits of your home, spread wide the curtains of your tent.  Let out its ropes to the full and drive the pegs home” (Isaiah 54:2, NEB).

Egypt--2010