Reflections of Family You Choose

                        "A Perfect Picture of Four Sisters!"

Reflections Of… Family you choose!

                     By Alan P. Scaglione

Did you know that Jesus was part of a blended family?

He was—he even had a stepfather!
Yep—Joseph was the first recorded Stand Up Guy- he chose to raise someone else’s son.
When you look at the Christmas story…
We don’t often look at Joseph and see the story from his view.
He was a son of a carpenter. His father was a carpenter so he would be a carpenter.
He had this girl he loved enough to marry.
Everything in his life was going just as it was planned.
He would marry his girl, and they would live a simple life, full of love and devotion to their family.
Well…he got most of that right—but simple life? Not so much.
He found out in a dream that his girlfriend was pregnant from someone else.
He had a legal right to have her killed because of the shame she brought on him.
But instead, he listened to the angel who explained that they had been chosen to be a family.
A family for Jesus!
Matthew Chapter 1 tells us:

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

²⁰ But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

²¹ And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

 And so… Joseph was the first Stand Up Guy—he raised someone else’s son—and loved him like he was his own!

Sometimes… family is the people you choose—and it’s just as strong a bond as the family you are born into.
And sometimes—it’s even stronger!
You see those girls?
They are part of a blended family.
And yet—they are 4 sisters—they would step up and defend each other—because they are family!
Suzette, Amber, Gabby and Aliea—may not look alike, two brunette, two blonde—but they are the best kind of family!
They are the family you choose!
Their mom and dad, Jessica and Shane, love these girls like they birthed all four of them!
And they provide a safe and loving home for these girls to be nurtured and encouraged and praised and supported!
All the things you want from a family—all the things you expect from a family.
And that’s what they are—a family!
We spent the day with them, celebrating Christmas!
The girls love to do crafts, so I brought along stuff to make our own ornaments.
And everyone made one—even the guys!
The girls ever sharing and cooperating and laughing and joking and just loving one another.
They look at each other as one family—because they are.
As we gathered around to have our Christmas story—they got their bibles out and we talked about the Christmas Story.
I was so taken aback as I tied the Christmas story into the Easter story that I had taught them back in March.
One of the girls, Gabby, remembered the word Golgotha!
And another one, Amber, remembered the crown of thorns that Jesus wore!
And Amber went on to share that she had read about the birth of Jesus in her bible.
When we asked if they remembered what Golgotha meant—they yelled out “Skull!”
I said “that’s right! The place of the skull!”
So there we were—this blended family—who include my wife and me in their blended family!
Sharing the Christmas Story—and they represented a blended family just like the one Jesus had.
I wondered if Joseph felt that joy of knowing that he and Mary had built a life that loved a child that…
was not his blood, but… was his family!
Maybe you are a part of a family you choose.
That’s all that matters—they are your family of the heart!
And you would defend them to the end—because they are your family.
Just like Joseph did!

 Brother “A”

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