My family and I went water tubing with my brother’s family. My six year old son rode on the jet ski with my brother as he pulled me on the tube. I told him that he would never knock me off the tube, which—come to find out—was the worst thing I could say.
My brother’s sole ambition became to throw me off the tube. I smiled every time I came to the surface after being slung into the water because I couldn’t help but enjoy the thrill. I guess I must have smiled a lot because my son said he wanted to ride on the tube with me.
I gave my brother The Look, which said, “You better not knock off my son.”
He looked at me and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t go fast.”
My son got on the tube, and I put his hands on the two middle handles. I fastened my hands around him, and I tucked him under my body. His little face was just inches away from mine, and I could see him smiling the entire time. We skirted the waves, and the water splashed our faces, but we never went fast enough to be thrown off.
As we traveled around the lake, my son yelled, “Mommy! What happens if I fall in the water?”
I reached my face toward his ear and whispered, “If you fall, I will fall with you. We’ll go into the water together.”
As I said those words, I knew I had just captured the essence of family. Whether by blood, marriage, adoption or choice, a family lives life together. God supernaturally binds the unique purpose of each member, and we become a single, beautiful praise offering to God.
Memory Verse:
“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.’”
– Ruth 1:16 (NIV)
Prayer Prompt:
“Father, thank You for my family. Please help me not to take them for granted. You have specifically chosen these souls for me to pour into and love. I pray that I can offer You praise through the joy I find in each life and that I honor You by my sacrifice in caring for each soul….”
Contributing Writer:
Alisa Hope Wagner
Faith Imagined
So true! It’s wonderful when God teaches us something sweet in the middle of living life.
Thanks so much. I especially like these words about the family of God:
Whether by blood, marriage, adoption or choice, a family lives life together. God supernaturally binds the unique purpose of each member, and we become a single, beautiful praise offering to God.