Everybody’s got family, right?
You don’t have to like ‘em, but you do have to love ‘em!
And don’t let anybody talk about them…Family defends family!
At least, that’s how I was taught and how I have lived.
There was a time when families, cousins, uncles, aunts…all spent time with each other—family was also friends.
Don’t see too much of that anymore.
I am blessed to have a lifelong friend who is also family—she has known me since I was 11 years old, and she has been a sister, a sister-in-law…a friend.
Kay is my brother Paul’s wife, but she is also a friend to me.
The two of them are our best friends.
We choose to spend time together.
We enjoy the time we spend and look forward to sharing our stories of our children’s exploits and successes.
We are family…but we are also friends.
POINTS2PONDER Why do some families not build relationships that include friendships and time spent sharing life and making memories? Why is it so foreign to some people that your family can also be your friend?
Kay has been a supporter and a counselor; she’s been a sister and partner in crime. She has helped me through a lot of rough times in my life, both as a sister and as a friend. She is someone that I know that I can count on to pray for my family, protect my good character and encourage me when times get tough.
And she gets along famously with my wife—the four of us are the Mertzes and the Ricardos, taking our day trips around Florida and our annual Christmas Light Tour.
We just did that this past Saturday Night!
We have 4 different places that we go to each year—just the four of us. Our kids think we are old-fogies, driving around just to see Christmas lights!
If we are…we are the youngest old-fogies I’ve ever met!
You have to see family at holidays and birthdays; weddings and funerals. You always say “we should spend more time together!” But, you never do.
And that’s the sad truth to many families. They just don’t enjoy spending time with family.
Not like they enjoy their friends.
So you have to know how fortunate I feel to have family that is also friends.
We laugh together, we cry together; we even pray together, like in the middle of Perkins Restaurant on Saturday night. Praying for our children is a priority!
I’ve had people comment to me how rare it is that brothers are also friends and in-laws get along.
I tell them that “they are the ones I know we can depend on, count on and look forward to sharing our life with.”
I don’t take their friendship for granted. I honor it with time, detail, concern and priority.
Isn’t that how you should honor a valued friendship?
How much more when those friends are also your family?
If you are one of those fortunate family members who also consider your family your friend, let them know how much you appreciate your unique, valuable relationship.
Believe me, I have been to the funeral with family who haven’t spoken in years, since the last wedding or funeral, and they all mourn the fact that they don’t see each other.
But, they all scurry to their car to get back to their lives, and their friends, because “that may be their family, but they certainly are NOT their friends!”
So, I know just how blessed my wife and I are to have my brother and sister-in-law also be our closest and dearest friends.
We salute them and honor them in our lives.
I don’t need a certain number of friends, just some friends I can be certain of.
And when I can be certain of my friends who are family—I am truly blessed.
How about you?
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