Greetings, Church Family. I miss seeing you in Sunday School, in the hallways, and in the pews! I miss your smiles and your hugs.
We spoke easily of our church family when times were “normal,” pre-COVID-19. We knew what “church family” meant. No one had to define it. We were “there” for each other…but what does that mean? Where is “there?” And especially, what does “being there” mean now that most of us are home bound?
Often, people define “family” by their own experience. Families look very different, but are no less…family. Last night, we watched the last episode of Modern Family. Now, there is one big, crazy family, all living right on top of each other! On the other hand, Ray and I have a very small family. Two children…one lives on the East Coast; one lives on the West Coast. Both are married, and there are four demanding careers. Even when there are no travel restrictions, we feel blessed to see them three or four times per year.
This might sound as though our family is not close. (But if you were to think that…well, I would probably be slightly offended. That happens sometimes in families, you see.) Our nuclear family might communicate now more than when the “kids” were in high school, living right under our roof! Now, from one coast to the other, we encourage each other, check in on each other, ask advice from one another, and express our constant and ongoing love for one another. We are still “there” for each other, regardless of the miles between us. We are family. The strong family bonds are not broken by physical distance.
Thank God for technology! We stay in touch with our children and their spouses by phone calls, emails, texts, and the Zoom “family hang out” is the highlight of my week. Well…that and the Sunday morning live-stream worship service.
The Church is described by the Apostle Paul as the “Body of Christ.” Indeed…COVID-19 is stretching this Body. But this disease cannot “dismember” it. We are still “there” for each other. We are still family, in spite of the physical distance between us.
Thank you for remaining an active member of this Body, this Christ-centered, loving family. I know you are praying with me that soon, we will smile, hug, and see one another in Sunday School, the hallways, and the pews again!
Jeni Cook Furr