A Tale of Two Families

My friend Nicole called last night. Her entire family (husband and kids) were super sick and she was on a business trip and needed a ride home from the airport today. "No problem," I said and off I went after school to Dulles to pick up my friend.

On the way home, we were talking about how it's so easy to pick up the phone and call each other for help. This past summer when I was on my "death bed" with a serious sinus infection, Nicole came by my house with bags of groceries and medicines and even did my dirty dishes! We concluded that because our friendship wasn't really a friendship anymore--it was more of a family relationship--dropping everything to help each other is really no big deal. We just do it because we love each other.

At school, my department members and I often say that we are a "family" of sorts. It's even difficult to go a whole summer vacation without seeing them, texting them, or calling. Heck, we even take beach vacations together at the end of the school year! (For all of you reading...2:42!! It's an inside joke!)

Recently at church, two new members who were about to be baptized said that they were grateful for our church because even without family members close by, they feel like they still have a family in the relationships they have made with members of the congregation.

I was reminded today in my conversation with Nicole that we all tend to have two families in our lives---the families we are born into and the families that we create. Kindness and love is what fuels BOTH types of families. We need to put effort into creating family wherever we are because there are many people out there whose biological families are breaking down.

I am a part-time foster parent a few weekends out of the year for teenagers who need a break from their permanent foster families. The one thing that I have noticed about all of these kids is that they are starved for positive adult interaction because they have never had that before. They are constantly striving to make a family wherever they are and they will bend over backwards when they are with you to do whatever they can to get your attention and be on your "good" side. Can we all strive to make a family wherever we are? Can we reach out to the people in need around us and draw them into relationship?