God setteth the solitary in families... Psalms 68:6, KJV

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. Psalms 127:4-5, KJV

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship... and all that believed were together... Acts 2"42-44. KJV

Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Psalms 133:1, KJV

This last several weeks I have been inundated with family. It seems every time I look at my schedule, there is another Christmas party or reunion or some other type of gathering with family and friends. I have to admit that in years gone by I used to dread the gatherings of the holidays. It wasn't that I was anti-family, and it sure wasn't that I was anti-Christmas! It was just that there were so many of these occasions that they seemed overwhelming at times. I was younger then, I was slightly more self-centered, and I had things to do.

This year has been different. I am no longer young, but I still struggle with being self-centered when it comes to my own schedule, and I am definitely as busy as ever. In the past week, we have got together with the church four times and have been with family for another three. I have been so busy with family in fact that I have hardly had a moment to sit down and write the daily articles that I have committed to. The days I have had time; I am often too worn out to think of something to write that is worth reading. I guess this "fuzzy mindedness" comes from the aforementioned fact that I am no longer as young as I used to be.

But this aging has not come without certain benefits. I have come to realize that no matter how many things I think must be done, it is family that is most important. The holidays are difficult on a lot of people, because they either have no family or they are no longer close with the family they do have. Compound that with those who no longer have time for their church family, and you can see the source of a real problem. But those who have given their lives over to Christ do not experience such difficult times because God really does set the solitary in families. He gives us fellowship with the church as a gift, not a curse, and those who are devoted to such fellowship are richly blessed and are rarely lonely or depressed.

And our physical families? Well, this past week we got to spend time with three of our grandkids while their parents snuck off for a moment or two of shopping. We then got to have lunch with five of my brother and sisters-in-law (who by the way, get along just dandy because we love one another). To cap it off, my baby sister (who just turned 60) came for a surprise visit so we all got together for an impromptu reunion with our three kids, two in-laws, and seven grandchildren.

Carolyn and I are exhausted!

But we also realize how blessed we have been to have been placed in a loving family as well as a loving church family. The time we get to spend with family is rarely convenient, but it is always joyful. And, given the choice between a wide-open calendar with plenty of time to finish my daily chores, and a schedule that is overflowing with joy because of the blessings of family - well, I guess the choice is pretty easy at that.

I now realize how good and pleasant it is to have a family that dwells together in unity. I have begun to appreciate more than you could imagine the church family that does the same. Carolyn and I have been blessed to have our "quiver" filled with the strength and comfort and joy that only family and the fellowship of the church can provide. I have been blinded too often with the tyranny of the urgent from the relatively inconsequential things that my days are so often filled with. But now I am determined to not only appreciate more the gifts that being with my family brings, but to also savor and anticipate these moments rather than merely "shoehorning" them into my busy life.

For, in the end, family is everything.

And the very best part of family is our Heavenly Father who loves us, and His Son who gave His life so that we could be together! If you have been like me in viewing your gatherings with family as something of a nuisance, then welcome to the club! Now, let me encourage you in this: Family is one of the greatest blessings that God has ever gifted His children with! Remember that they are the essence and the purpose of your life, and that we are placed in our beautiful families in order to enjoy life more fully and to help one another on our way to heaven. In the end, it is not the things we do in life that are so important; rather, it is the people we do them with. 

Aren't we blessed, for God has chosen to rescue us from our busy little isolated lives and place us in families! If you are like me and have forgotten this, then maybe it is time to remember just what a great blessing our time with family really can be... if we will just take the time to enjoy them.