The Bonds of Family

As some of you know, I’m the youngest of eleven kids. Family means everything to me, yet, sadly, I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like. Last month, on my birthday, I received an unexpected yet delightful call from my #2—my brother Kenny!

Growing up, I was really close to Kenny (or Ken, as everyone calls him now). In fact, my parents even made him and my sister Cheryl my “godparents.” But as life took me in different directions, visiting him and the rest of my family became more difficult. Still, every time I was back in town, I made a point to see him.

Kenny, who is sixteen years older than me, has been dealing with some health issues. And after losing our sister Cheryl a couple of years ago, we’re all painfully aware of how fleeting time with loved ones can be. So when he called, I was overjoyed to catch up. We talked for about forty-five minutes, sharing stories about our families and life in general—it truly made my day. Moments like these remind me just how important it is to cherish every opportunity we have with those God put in our life. I pray for many more conversations with Kenny in the years to come.

Now, we’re in Chicago, celebrating my husband’s nephew’s wedding. His nephew is marrying a wonderful woman from the Philippines, expanding our multicultural family even more! Meeting and getting to know new family members from across the world has been an incredible and heartwarming experience.

Foundations

So much lately has me thinking about family. It’s important that regardless of the kind of family we come from, to remember that family is incredibly important, and God placed us in the families we have for a reason.

Family is the foundation of society—a bond that ties generations together, providing us with our identity and continuity. Nowhere is this more evident than in the historical Hebrew families of the Bible, where lineage, heritage, and faith were intricately woven together, and ancestry was meticulously recorded — tracing back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Through history, storytelling, covenant, and shared responsibility, their strength was found not in uniformity, but in unity—a people bound together despite trials, disagreements, and even exile. Even the genealogies found throughout Scriptures, whether in books like Genesis, 1 Chronicles or Matthew, (which traces the lineage of Jesus), remind us of the enduring significance of the families God places us into. For example:

Samuel: Son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph…

Zephaniah: Son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah…

Zechariah: Son of Berechiah, son of Iddo...

Family Today

The older I get, the more I realize that family remains just as vital today, even as modern culture tries to erode its value. Living at a time and in a world of increasing division we must recognize that family is not just about what we agree or disagree on, but rather about connection. Whether bound by blood or by faith, we are interwoven, and our survival depends on our ability to stand together despite our differences.

Make no mistake—there is a force actively working against this unity. From the very beginning, the enemy has sought to fracture families, knowing that a broken family leads to a broken society. Whether through strained relationships, cultural shifts that devalue marriage and parenthood, or the distractions of self-centered living, the attack on family is relentless. But when we recognize these schemes, we can fight back—by choosing to operate in the opposite spirit, the Spirit of Christ. When we do we strengthen our bonds, embrace our roots, and choose love over division.

Back to Our Roots

After experiencing so much loss in the past five years and attending more funerals than we care to count (between both my husband’s family and mine), we’ve made a decision: we are shifting back into a season of sowing into our families. For far too long, we have allowed distance, busyness, unforgiveness, or even old childhood disagreements to keep us apart—but no longer. Life is too short, and family is too precious to let anything stand in the way of love.

And as for Kenny—his call reminded me that even a simple conversation can bridge the miles between us, rekindling the bonds of family that time and distance can never truly erase. I pray it’s a reminder not just for me, but you also. Embrace what matters most in the time we have left—because tomorrow is never promised.

God Bless You Today,

Carole