Connect: a verb.
To bring together; to make contact; join together; provide access and communication
This week I’ve been thinking about the word connect.
Connecting is not just bringing together, but joining together and communicating. I’ve been blessed with many deep and lasting connections. I’ve established many such relationships through teaching and writing. At first, I wanted to write about those kinds of connections and encourage fellow writers to seek out those relationships.
But the most important connections are those with family and close friends.Those relationships take root around the dinner table or at church. They are founded in walking through this life…through both the good and the bad together. They are so much a part of our everyday life we often take them for granted.
This past week, my sweet aunt, my mother’s oldest sister, died. She was ninety-three. Aunt Flora loved her family. She loved her church family, too. A steady stream of people made their way to the visitation on Friday and the next day, the church building was filled with family and friends.
I could use this space to rewrite her obituary; to tell my readers of the way my aunt worked hard during hard times or to share what a great cook she was, but this is a post about connections…remember?
So this is my advice for the week –taken from a page of the life my aunt modeled:
Cook a meal together with your family.
Turn off your devices and sit down with your family to eat.
Talk and Listen.
Laugh together.
Hold each other close.
Tuck your kids into bed. Say prayers with them.
Take your family to church and find your path through this world God has created.
Sing.
And if you came to this blog to learn how to be a better writer, here is your assignment for the week: be a better person.And if you want to see the direction your life is taking, imagine (or draft) what your own obituary will look like when you reach ninety-three.
 |
| My Mom in the Middle With Her Older Sister and Younger Brother a Few Weeks Ago |
Rebecca - I love this!! I missed out on so much family because my father was in the Military and we never knew either side of our family! However, when I married, I did gain some family through my X wife. With all my Cousins on both side I was a weirdo, as I had grown up in a different country, with different customs.
ReplyDeleteBut, as I had missed that, as a child, once we had kids everyone was at the table, no electronics and we talked about the day, and my partner had hilarious stories that kept us all entertained. I cannot rely on the past generation and their kids, but I have started anew and I can say I have a book on our life together! Thanks for your great words!!
Thank you so much! I am happy this post was able to touch you. families often have differing ways to express their love for one another but gathering at the table? Essential! Blessings on you and yours.
DeleteHello mate nice bloog
ReplyDelete