A Family Thing

I knew that they collected Breyer Horses, but I didn’t really know what that meant or have any clue how big the collection was until last night. Hundreds of horses were placed all around the house—all three daughters’ bedrooms were full to overflowing and the dad’s office was evidently the same. Neatly arranged and carefully taken care of, the Breyer Horse collection that I saw at the Legendre house looked like something you’d see in a collectible store. I didn’t dream about Breyer Horses last night, but I’m surprised!

I had the privilege of helping with a commissioning service at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church last night. [In case you’re wondering, Pleasant Hill is in the middle of nowhere, but it’s a lovely church outside of Hemingway, SC.] I was asked to attend the service by one of my former SC WMU Youth Panelists, Sarah. She told me that she and her sister Elizabeth, also a former panelist, were being commissioned for a full summer of summer missions work and that her mom, Johnna, was being commissioned as well. What I didn’t realize was that her other sister, Hannah, also a former panelist, was being commissioned for a week-long missions trip with her college and that her WMU Director was on the program, too!

As I sat on the Legendre family pew and listened to each of the girls, their mom, and the WMU director—who, incidentally, has had a huge impact on their lives—speak about the work they would be doing this summer, I couldn’t help but feel honored to be there. It was a beautifully humbling experience to be able to show my support to the girls and stand with church members and Johnna’s dad in unity and prayer. It was also a funny experience to hear the entire Legendre family say “Amen” after the special music with the exact same timing and voice inflection!

On Saturday, I spoke at a Mother/Daughter banquet that hosted women from four generations. I spoke to 4-year-olds and 84-year-olds and various ages in between. I spoke of love and Christ and missions and giftedness and not being alone and I watched as God’s spirit moved among generation to generation.

This faith we hold…it’s a family thing. True. We must individually choose faith for ourselves and sometimes people choose to walk away. One of the women at the Mother/Daughter banquet came to the banquet alone. Her son has refused to speak to her for years and will have nothing to do with the faith in which he was raised. Yet the woman came. And she ate with and had her picture made with a young lady who “adopted” her as mom for the day.

I don’t know about you, but I’m grateful for this family of faith—for those who have gone before me like my G-Daddy who died 23 years ago today but who made an impact on so many lives—for those who walk beside me now, for those who will walk beside me in the future, and for those who will continue walking long after I’m gone. I don’t know about you, but I’m grateful that I’m not alone on this journey.

At the end of the service last night, Pastor Jim, the girls’ dad, asked me to say the benediction. I remembered that the benedictions that speak the most to me are the ones that my dad takes straight out of scripture. I’ve always loved how he blesses and charges the congregation as he walks down the aisle with his hands raised upward, in an open, sending forth posture. I didn’t walk down the aisle as I spoke last night, but I did say raise my hands and say this:

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
Amen.