Family the Way it Should Be
I am the daughter of Dave and Joyce Hoke...the Granddaughter of Pearl and Bud...the sister of Cindy and Judy...and more aunts and uncles and cousins than I can name. That is the family I was born into by birth. And I thank God for every single part of them...the good and bad. But in my lifetime I have been blessed to be born into another family...the family of God. What has that meant in my life? Let me break it down in practical ways.
I have three daughters...amazing women given to me by God through natural birth...woohoo i cherish them! Along with those precious natural born daughters are a slew of daughters I have gained in Christ. My precious Eve, Natalie, Leah, Tiffany, Lindsie, Nicole, Brandy. These women are as precious to me as my own. I disciple them. I love their children. I laugh with them. I cry with them. God has blessed me.
But listen to this amazing other list of women: Janie Mauck (Leah's birth momma), Laura Savely (Natalies birth mother), Jeanette King (Nicole's momma), Paula Goins (the momma of Brandy Goins). These women have graciously shared their daughters with me and their grandbabies. We have prayed for our daughters, cried and rejoiced together over them, pulled our hair out together and learned to trust God together.
Another group of women....the women who have mothered me in the absence of my precious momma: Sue Bullington who scolds me and trains me like she does her own; Juanita Parkhill who taught me how to wife and mother; Leola Nichols who takes care of her Sunday school books while also keeping me in check; Ellen Brooks who reminds me daily of the unconditional love of Jesus by the way she loves me.
Women like Eve Hullette, Lisa King, Kathy Ward, I could go on and on.
Who would I be today without the investment of this "family" given by God? I am blessed. I have known true richness. I have known unconditional love and grace. Who am I, God, to be blessed with such unmerited favor?
Praise GOD!