Summer 2021
A happy family is
but an earlier heaven.
–George Bernard Shaw
We’ve been enjoying an earlier heaven this week as our three children, their spouses, and three grandchildren have gathered. (Steve’s sister and brother-in-law joined us for a day also.)
Because such occasions happen only now and then, I totally agree with Kathleen McGowan, who wrote:
The only thing sweeter than union
is reunion.
–Kathleen McGowan
Indeed, we treasure these times of togetherness, just as Wanda Hope Carter advocates:
Family and friends are hidden treasures.
Seek them and enjoy their riches.
–Wanda Hope Carter
A Spanish-American philosopher came close to describing why we find treasure in familial relationships:
The family is one of
nature’s masterpieces.
–George Santayana
I’d amend his statement to: “The family is one of God’s masterpieces.” After all, family is God’s idea, established at the beginning of time (Genesis 1:28).
Author Dillon Burroughs adds this viewpoint:
When we think of our family,
our spouse, parents, or children,
let us see them as a gift from God.
–Dillon Burroughs
Indeed! I am supremely grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving us the gift of a family that loves, supports, and takes joy in one another.
They make my soul blossom.
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;
They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
–Marcel Proust
From the Inside Out 