Real Family

I’m not sure what a dream analysis would reveal of the dream I had last night. I’m afraid to think about it.

I was at a family wedding with all our kids which seems normal enough. Sitting next to me, however, in place of my husband, was Fred Gwynne, a.k.a. Herman Munster from The Munsters TV show. We were holding hands.

What does this mean? The theme that comes to my mind in all of this is family. Weddings bring families together. Our kids were all there as a family. And then there was representation from one of the wackiest families to bring some comic relief. That is something we all could use more of these days.

Yesterday, in our Abiding Prayer session we experienced another sort of family. The family we inherit as daughters of God. A family of sisters in Christ. I’ve never really liked that term. It sounds so formal. But how else do you describe the sisterhood of women who are forever bonded by their love for Jesus and its resulting love for each other. There is so much sorrow and suffering going on lately and much of it has landed in our Firstfruits family. It felt so good to be together to share the burdens and sprinkle the hope.

There is a spiritual classic called Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. It is an allegory of a spiritual life. The main character is Much-Afraid. The story follows her path from leaving her past filled with fear and heading for higher places with the Shepherd. He promises good for her but it involves a journey. He promises to give her guides on the journey. Those guides’ names end up being Sorrow and Suffering. Not what she had hoped for. The Shepherd instructs her when things get difficult on the journey, to grab hold of their hands and they will guide her to where she needs to go.

Most often when things get difficult, we rather grab hold of relief and resolution as fast as we can. But some things are just too big. And the only way through them is to grab hold of sorrow and suffering and trust that they will lead us where the Shepherd wants us to go. To where the Shepherd is waiting.

Sometimes it takes a family to help us grab hold and hang on. God knew that and gave us each other.

Your sister in Christ,
Joan Munster