Another "new favorite quote . . .

Home is where your heart is . . . but it is also where your story begins!

Now that is truly a profound quote. I am trying to find out who the author is in order to give proper credit. If you know . . . please send that info to me.

On our way home from an out-of-town trip this past week, my wife and I stopped in Temple, TX where we met my Mom for dinner. As luck would have it, my aunt and uncle, who live in the same town as my Mom, showed up as well to the restaurant.

I waved them over . . . and we had a grand ol' "family reunion" and catch up time.

My aunt and uncle are very dear to me. He is a "retired" Baptist preacher, church planter, and church stewardship consultant. Yet, in his late 70's, he is still preaching most Sundays, and helping several churches and colleges with fund-raising programs She is a "retired" high school English teacher, in her mid-70's, who serves as a mentor each semester to education majors and student teachers who attend a nearby college.

I hope my retirement is as energetic and active!!!

Well, we started talking and sharing stories, and before we knew it . . . over two hours had passed by. Liz and I had to leave in order to get home at a respectable hour for needed sleep from our travels. Yet it was difficult to leave knowing that there was so much more we wanted to share together with my "folks."

Family is where our hearts are. Or at least ought to be, if relationships are indeed the most important value of our lives . . . as I think they should be.

Families are where are own individual story begins . . . and where the corporate story of our family continues. Whether it be a blood family, nuclear family, or church family . . . we all belong to some type of family . . . and we are all part of a story. I thank God for this. I use to not believe or care about this notion . . . until I began a 2-3 year spiritual journey in preparation for turning 50. In that journey, I re-prioritized my values. Family went to the top of the list.

I thank God for this 2nd chance. Better to finally "get this" than to not get it at all.

We laughed at lot that evening in Temple, as we told stories and caught up on "what's been going on?" We laughed a whole lot. I am glad my family story is entertaining, or that we maybe are good storytellers. But whether the story be entertaining or sad . . . it is where I have my first roots. I am a character in the story . . . I am not trapped in that character . . . as all characters in a story must develop for the story to have a flow towards an interesting or climactic conclusion.

Family is where my story begins. Knowing this energizes me to continue to grow in life's adventure.

Ever forward . . . ><>