This is something we did at church yesterday. The leader stood up after the message and said, “We have about ten minutes left, so I want you to do something. Close your eyes and picture your family. Think about them. There are a lot of times we take them for granted. What I want you to do is place them before God…”

I did that. It really wasn’t hard. There was Audra and Kia and Aylis’ and Todd and Soraya. I could see their faces and I could place them before God. But then the leader threw me for a loop. He said, “Pray for your mom and your dad and your brothers and sisters.” What caught me off guard was that he wasn’t adding them as an after thought.

Okay, I know my parents and my brothers are part of my family. I love them and I pray for them (perhaps not as much as I shoiuld, but I do), but when the leader asked us to picture our family, I immediatly thought of my immediate family. Those who live in my house. My parents live in Montana. My brothers live in Washington state and Colorado. They are important, but they don’t live with me.

In the states when we talk about family, we generally mean those who are in our immediate family. For example, if someone asked me “How many people are in your family?” I would immediately think of the six people in my house. When I ask the question of the people here in Latin America, the answer is something like, “Whew… a lot. I can’t count them all. I have brothers and sisters and mom and dad and aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousins…” A different way of looking at the world around us. I’m learning…

Be blessed in who you are and where you go. Now… take a moment to think about your family…