Strong marriages and families practice flexibility. Whether it’s with the introduction of the first child or the first grandchild, there’s a willingness to go with the flow and let life get rearranged.
In this guest post, Connie Plummer gives a great picture of a marriage that’s willing to be rearranged. Connie is an educator, a children’s minister, and a wise advocate for marriage and family. I know her words will encourage you as much as they did me.
As you enter our home there is a little table with some favorite photos of our family, daughter, son, husband, wife, and grandkids. Along with these family photos is this wonderful verse of Scripture…
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. – Psalms 100:5 (NIV)
Among the pictures and the verse, I also have these little wooden blocks. They are like the ABC blocks that are mandatory toddler equipment. They sit in a line among the pictures and spell ‘FAMILY’.
Well, at least sometimes they spell ‘FAMILY’. But after the kids leave our home and take our four wonderful mini hurricanes, aka our grandkids, with them, I always make a point to stop by the table to see what I will find. And I always find the blocks in some ‘un FAMILY’ arrangement.
I used to rearrange them immediately back to their original configuration, but not any more. I have come to realize that I really appreciate how our quiet, empty nester lives get rearranged when they are with us. Food changes. Entertainment changes. The volume of the house definitely changes. And our activities change. Instead of sitting and reading or checking email, we are on the floor building with Tinker Toys, or painting pictures, or making Play-Doh worms and such.
So now I walk by those blocks, stacked vertically and spelling ‘AIFLMY,’ and thank God for our own ‘generations’ and the joy and life they bring to us. His love endures.
Connie Plummer
Where is it in your life that you need to be more willing to be rearranged? How would life be different if you were more willing to allow your life to be rearranged? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.
Copyright © 2015 Bret Legg
Our lives seem to live in a constant state of rearrangement with our 5 kids, 3 of which are married, and now 5 grandchildren. As crazy as it gets at times, I’m so thankful for the blessing of family!
Between my 91 year old mother, two grown daughters and their husbands, 5 grandkids and grand animals my life is never dull. But I am so thankful for my family and the chaos they bring.
Yes. Rearrangement by and for the people we love is not bad. It can even be a blessing. May your chaos get sweeter and sweeter.