Wednesday, June 29, 2011

This is what it's all about!

We went down to Mesa, Arizona for a family reunion (my mom's side) last weekend. It was a very, very long drive down. And a very, very, very long drive home (14 hours for a 10 hour drive). But that is not the point of this post. Although it would make for a very convincing advertisement for any airline.

The point of this post is to share just one moment of this reunion. Although there were many memorable moments (cupcakes and frosting covering the faces of the youngest participants in the cake walk, Grandma June winning the pie eating contest at the young age of 90, the oh-so-very talented and not-so-very talented singers of the karaoke afternoon), this one was more of a personal aha moment.

I was sitting in my red camp chair that I had brought along to make the every-two-to-three-hour feedings for Noah a little more comfy. We were in the gym of an older church and there was lots going on. Almost to the point of chaos. A lovely family sort of chaos. There were cousins of all ages running around and participating in all the activities. The parents of said cousins (I am bunching all young kids together as cousins, even though some were in the muddier category of cousins once removed or second cousins or something) were busy setting up for the next set of activities. Several moms were pregnant with their first, third, or fourth children. Some of the young adults were gathered around a table playing games. Grandma June was zipping around on her scooter, checking on everything and everyone. Grandpa Miles, the patriarch of the family, was seated in a soft, red, velvety chair in the middle of the room, deep in conversation with several of the young fathers. And one or two not so young fathers.

And the thought that came into my mind was, "This is what it's all about." This is the purpose of the gospel - to create forever families. This is the most important thing in this life - to have a family, to teach them the gospel, to have fun together, to love each other. The rest of the things we do every day do not matter so much. And that is the moment I will remember from this family reunion. And Grandma June winning the pie eating contest. Even though she cheated and used her hands.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen! I'm so glad you were there!

MOM

Jon and Jess said...

Thanks for this post Marian, LOVED it. SO true.