Sunday

Family.

We all have one. It may not be the cookie cutter family we think everyone else has but it is there. Family is a bond unlike any other. No matter what, we are bound to each other. If we live worthily we have the awesome opportunity of becoming an eternal family. You can move, quit talking, even pass on and yet you are still family.

Friends come and go. Some build relationships that are just as strong as those of family. We live in neighborhoods and attend church. Those bonds form another family. One in which we serve and love each other. We rejoice and morn together. In this day and age many of us do not live as close to our natural families and these bonds help fill in those gaps. Some of us do not come from close and supportive families so in some ways our church families help to fill those needs as well.

In reality we really are one huge family. Sure there will always be an Uncle Ed every one thinks is a little off or that crazy Grandma Sally who has to pinch our cheeks, and there will always be that favorite cousin you can tell anything too. They may not look like the ones you grew up with, but they are there. Best friends become sisters, and golf partners feel more like bothers. A visiting teacher can be the “mom” you are missing. A bishop can easily become that wise “dad” we all need.

Look around you and see what is there. Sometimes I look around at my friends; some are old enough to be my parents other barely reach my knees! They all fill in those little spots that are missing in my life. I see mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and nieces, and nephews. I see a family. The faces may not be the same color, they eyes are not the ones I see in my mirror. I do however see hearts that rejoice in the gospel with me. I hear voices that sing the same songs of praise. I see hands that serve along with mine. I see a family.