My children arrived home from college this week. They are home for an entire week for Thanksgiving and I could not be happier to have the house full again. I get giddy when I wake up knowing the kids’ rooms are occupied. It’s like a metaphorical cup of Foldger’s coffee. You know the song. “The best part of waking up….” My eldest is a Georgia Bulldog, just like his mama. My middle is at Asbury University in Kentucky, following in her dad’s footsteps. My youngest is still in high school and has yet to decide on where he will spend his college days. I can’t imagine what it will be like when all three are gone and returning home for the holidays. I don’t know if I will be able to contain my excitement. My husband said just the other day, “I love our family.” I could not agree more, and this time of year is a reminder of just how thankful we are to have such a great family unit.

There’s nothing like being part of a close-knit family. Not only am I blessed to have that now, but I was also fortunate to grow up in a happy home with a dad, mom, older sister and younger brother. In fact, my folks are still married after 55 years and my siblings and I are all still speaking and actually pretty good friends. I find that comforting in this day and age where marriages crumble and families fall apart, or vice versa. I have fond memories of my childhood growing up in Hendersonville, North Carolina. We were a family of modest means, but love was at the center. My parents reared us well, taught us how to treat others, and gave us a good moral foundation. My siblings and I refer to our family as the “fab five.” I think most times, a strong family is the result of the example and expectation that is set. My parents did that for us. I even have a tattoo on my forearm in honor of our family.

One of the things I am amazed at most about our family is the devotion of my father to my mom after her accident. I attribute a lot of his dedication to the fact that he was once a soldier. He served in the Army during the Vietnam War. The allegiance that a soldier develops for his country is not something easily lost or forgotten. I am a patriot and I admire the faithfulness and dedication of all service men and women. Not only do they put their lives on the line, but they do it without compromise or question. They serve out of a resolute duty. My dad, the soldier, has served my mom and taken care of all of her needs with precision and care out of not only promise, but out of duty. My mom, to him, is the soldier who will not be left behind. I admire him for that.

With a catastrophic injury like my mom has, it would have been easy to walk away because of the arduous effort it takes to care for her. Only the selfless and prideful could do what my dad has done. He is by no means a perfect man, but he is enduring, and he has served my mom and been by her side throughout this entire daunting process of living life as a quadriplegic. For thirteen years, he has served her and provided for her every need. This includes making 3 meals a day, washing the dishes, doing the laundry, waking each morning at 3AM to turn her while she sleeps so she doesn’t develop bed sores. He has driven her to countless doctor appointments. He has taken care of her needs in every way, including personal things like showering, using the restroom, washing and drying her hair and sometimes styling it with a curling iron. I could go on and on with this list. That vow he made to my mom about caring for her in sickness and in health, has been lived out daily. I would say that his care for her has been so meticulous that it has been hard to find someone to live up to his standard. Since he can no longer care for her, he has had to release control to someone else. My mom has been resistant. It’s just not the same for her. My siblings and I are discovering just how difficult it is to persevere as we try and monitor care for mom in my dad’s absence. My heart hurts for them, but at the same time I find joy in how he has stood by my mom.

When I think about family and all that we’ve been through, I can’t help but ponder over the family that God started through a man named Abraham so long ago. One of the most important ideas to God was to establish a family on earth through His people. He grew His family, cared for His family, and made promises to His family. Like all families do, they struggled, they complained, they went through extremely difficult times, they experienced joy, they questioned His plan, yet He provided for them, daily. He showed them how to live, taught them right from wrong, loved them, and gave them Hope. What a blessing! It is such a comfort to me to think that the very same God is providing and caring for my family each day. I can trust and rely on His promises because I am part of that family that he started so long ago. That also makes me giddy and want to sing, “Father Abraham, had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham, I am one of them, and so are you. So, let’s all praise the Lord!”