Genesis 2:22-24 Family
“The Lord made a woman out of the rib. The Lord brought her to the man, and the man exclaimed, ’Here is someone like me! She is part of my body, my own flesh and bones. She came from me, a man. So I will name her woman!’ That’s why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman and the two of them become like one person” (CEV).
Thus, the first family. Children were born, and they became part of the family. Norma and I married, and we became a family. Three sons, Tim, Brian, and Jason, were born, and our family grew. Our sons married, and Michelle, Adirenne, and Danielle became part of the family. Our sons and their wives had children, Josh, Megan, Emily, Jonathan, Benjamin, Haley, and Noah, and our family grew. Our granddaughter, Emily, married a man named Joshua; Josh got engaged to a woman named Alicia, and our family grew.
At each point of this process, love grew because Jesus was included in the family with Norma and me from the beginning. This grouping that God created in the beginning, a family, is the biggest blessing in my life other than my relationship with Jesus, my Savior. I can truly say that love abounds within this family, and I can further say that love will grow as this family continues to grow.
The family, partly because of the increasing rate of growth of it, and partly because it is based on a relationship with Jesus Christ, has an effect on all those any member of the family meets. This is a great way to spread the Good News originally brought by Jesus. Each member of this growing family has many opportunities to spread this Good News, namely, the love of God, as he or she interacts with others by both actions and words.
God greatly blessed me the day that Norma Peden became Norma Croyle, and I have lived in that blessing every day since then. As our family grew with children, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, grandchildren-in-law, and grandfiance, the blessings in my life have grown immensely. For that I am thankful. I eagerly state that I receive love from, and return love to Norma, Adrienne, Alicia, Benjamin, Brian, Danielle, Emily, Haley, Jason, Jonathan, Josh, Joshua, Megan, Michelle, Noah, and Tim. I am a most blessed man, and I knew it from day one of our marriage.
THANK YOU, LORD, FOR MY FAMILY!