A Weekend to Remember!

One of the great words in language is "family." The dictionary defines "family" as: a group consisting of the two parents and their children. Somehow that definition seems so sterile, doesn't it? Over this past weekend, Marlys and I had the privilege of discovering once again the wonder of "family."

This coming Saturday marks our 40th anniversary. Yes, it is a milestone. And we had celebrated an early anniversary with our children and grandchildren last summer during a week in Estes Park, CO. (We celebrated a couple of 60th birthdays as well). And we had a great time that week creating memories that still bring smiles to our hearts. So, when our daughter, who lives in Rochester, MN, called a couple of weeks ago and said that her family would like to come up for the weekend to help us celebrate, we said we would love to have them come. We enjoy when Merideth, Dan, and Abby and Annie come. Because they live closer, we can see them more often. So, as we walked into the Timberlodge Restaurant in Maple Grove on Friday evening, expecting to meet Merideth, Dan, and the girls, we suddenly became speechless. Sitting around the table were our Iowa kids Barry, Carol, and their three children: Josiah, Meghan, and Carson; and our Texas kids Beth and Greg and their two boys: Ethan and Max; and my Mom. I was at a loss for words. Our kids and grandkids had pulled off one of the best surprises ever. And so our weekend plans were changed!

Our daughter-in-law, Carol, who suffers from MS, had written a special song for the occasion which all sang with glee. It was about the "Frazier Clan." Each family participated in a family worship experience on Sunday morning. What a blessing! And our seven grandkids were as near perfect as they could get the entire weekend.

Family: a group consisting of two parents and their children. Dictionary writers, you have it all wrong. Family is about relationships. It is playing baseball with seven eager grandchildren, even getting eaten by mosquitoes on the way to the diamond. It is quiet talk with our kids after the grandkids have gone to bed. It is playing Phase 10 while stretched out on the floor. It is having one of your grandchildren lead in prayer around the dining room table. It is eating sweetcorn and watching the melted butter drip down your chin. That's what "family" is all about. It is building into the lives of each other. It is "iron sharpening iron" as Solomon would say. It is giving encouragement when it would be easier to be discouraged.

On Monday evening, as Marlys and I sat in the quiet - somehow that is always the most noticeable after everyone has gone - we still asked ourselves if the whole weekend had been a dream. But we had the pictures to show that it had not been a dream. What a wonderful way to celebrate what had begun 40 years before! Yes, this past weekend was one that was 40 years in the making. And I would not trade those years for anything.