my MARFAlous life: my two families.

"I'm thankful because I have two families...and not too many people can say that."

The final line in one of my favorite shows, Chicago Fire, seems to nail exactly how I have felt for the last week. Well, really it's a feeling that I have been blessed to have all my life. But, it came into great perspective last weekend as one of my life long friends, Lindy, married the man we have all prayed for her to find. I can't really say that she found him, or vice-versa, as it was an act of God that they were brought together at the right moment. God's timing is so much better than our own. Sorry for the sidetrack....

Lindy is second of three children in her family - her older sister, Katie, is also a life-long friend and her brother John is the subject of many of my previous posts. I loved, and will always love, John whole-heartedly and enjoyed years of friendship and fun with him. Lindy has always been like a sister to me. I have preferred to think of her as a "soul sista" ever since she gave me a CD mix with the same title. It's such a true title as we are not related by blood but life, love, and similarities have brought us together. I love her like I love my sister. I want her to succeed in life, to love fully, and to receive the love that she deserves. Lindy and I have always been connected by our love for baking and eating baked goods. I helped her with her first wedding cake and recently was honored by getting to make her wedding cake (see picture!). We both loved John so much and dealt with the enormous lose that his death left in our lives. We are both the middle of three children and the youngest of two daughters - I like to think this plays into things :) Lindy is a very special person to a very huge group of people. Her husband, Michael, is one lucky guy to have won her heart. I look forward to getting to know Michael in the years to come and to see their marriage and relationship grow.

Okay, okay - back to the quote at the top of my post! I had to discuss Lindy to elude into the point of this conversation with myself. I have two families. Many people do not even have the blessing of having one family. Death, divorce, dramas - many reasons can lead to the destruction of a family unit. Unfortunately, it seems to be more common than I realized for people to be estranged from their families or those who love them. One lesson my mom recently taught me was that holding on to past offenses can ruin a future with someone. How sad and heartbreaking that people do this to themselves as often as the experiences of life separates families.

This is what makes the family unit so special and holy - it takes consistent effort and grace and love to keep the unit together, connected, and to not allow separation from something trivial, much less something major. Grace, kindness, and forgiveness does not always come easy. But, it is so worth the effort to have a group of people who love and support you standing around you, watching you live life, and cheering you on - despite the bumps in the road and in the relationships.

How do I have two families you might ask? Well, I was born into one wonderful, crazy, food-loving, movie-watching, and leisurely family. We enjoy being together - especially when chips and salsa or cheese and bread are involved :) Now that we are all of legal drinking age, it adds to the fun when we have some new wines to try or whiskey to sip on or maybe an eclectic selection of beer to sample. My family makes an effort to be together for holidays. We tease each other - and sometimes hurt feelings. We forgive, love, laugh, and encourage. Both of my siblings inspire me in different ways on a regular basis. My parents give me something to look forward to in marriage, parenting, aging, and retirement. They raised us on Christian values and live in accordance to the same lessons they taught us. My parents support our crazy plans and love us even when we screw up...and we have all had plenty of screw-ups. My siblings and I are very close to our cousins, Hannah and Kate. The five of us more resemble siblings than cousins, actually, and both sets of parents have been supportive, encouraging, and loving throughout our years. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, and parents have spent the better part of their lives praying for us kids to be believers in Christ, to love life, to love others, and to be honorable people. My family enjoys and values our times together. Life has shown that family togetherness is not unlimited - we are blessed and fortunate to still have the unit intact. We appreciate each other more because of the events and losses we have experienced together. I am blessed and lucky to have this family of mine - ~~even~~ especially with all our quirks and crazy.

I have another family. This family has stood beside me in moments of great joy as well...and those of great heartbreak, grief, and pain. This family consists of peers my age - give or take a few years - but also their families. We have all kinda adopted each other as our own. This family is my Campmeeting family. Most of them are related and have allowed my little family to join the crowd. We have grown up together, knowing that, at the very least, we would reunite every August. Our ages range from 17ish to 31ish...plus little Anders who is just 1.5 years...ish. A few additions have been made over the years and more will come to the group as the rest of us get married and have babies.

But, this group is special. This is a group that is not entirely connected by blood, but completely connected by love, acceptance, and Christ. We make an effort to reconvene at Campmeeting each year. We go out of our way to attend the weddings and funerals that the in-between times bring to the table. We catch up right where we left off - even if it's been over the standard year. We discuss literature, philosophy, and theology. We play silly games and have jam sessions on the porch. We take late night walks and can sit for hours just TALKING. Not many from our generation take value in such experiences and, yet, we not only value them - we THRIVE on them. We laugh and cry, rejoice and grieve, listen and share together. We are a group of individuals who feel more complete and content with life when we are all together again. We are a group of individuals who set their annual calendar from August to August, rather than January to January, because that is when Campmeeting will bring us together again.

I love this family of mine. I know that they will support, encourage, and love me no matter what life throws at me. They loved John too but reached out to me when he died because they knew I would be hurting so much. They love Lindy and made an effort to be at her wedding, to support her, to honor her marriage by witnessing and celebrating the moment. They rest secured in the knowledge that we will be together again when Jesus takes one of us Home. We thrive on the hymn God be with you til we meet again because we personally feel the power of the lyrics. At the wedding last weekend, it became clear to many of us just how special and rare this experience and bond is. My uncle's toast to the couple proclaimed the uniqueness - even he considers all the "kids" of the group to be his own. It is so rare and unique to have a group of people who are so crazy about each other and their families that we accept them as our own.

During this season of thankfulness, I must proclaim my eternal gratefulness for this blessing of two families. I have two families that accept me as I am, who challenge me to be better and stronger, who understand my crazy and emotional side, and who love me despite everything. I have been blessed more than I deserve and love them all.

thank you, Jesus, for this blessing.

xo,
ac

p.s. a few more pics just because I'm proud to have these people in my life!