Published July, 2002
God sets the lonely in families…
Psalm 68:6
His words tug at my heart. The psalmist is my daily encourager, friend, and teacher…he reminds me of the power of possibilities in the coming day.
I close the Bible and turn off the reading lamp so as to be able to soak in the approaching dawn. The sounds of birds outside announce the birth of a new day just over the edge of the horizon.
In the cool morning air, I close my eyes and settle into the anticipation of one of God’s many common miracles…a fresh, bright day. My feet propped on the low table, unexpectedly in the quiet, like a drop of fresh dew, the psalmist’s words return to me. Insistent. One simple line from hundreds. God sets the lonely in families.
My mind stirs. How peaceful this morning has been…a peace born of recent family events. Only four days ago we gathered with family and friends to celebrate the graduation of our daughter Jamie from college. It was a magical time. Our son Justin flew in from the east coast, and we all came together on an outdoor patio for dinner–former neighbors, a baby sitter who became a permanent family friend, uncles, grandparents, former high school pals with their new spouses, and college roommates. My daughter hugged me. “This was so wonderful,” she said. “All the people who are important to me—it’s been so special to spend the night with them.”
This has been a month of families for us. We travel next week to celebrate the graduation of our California nephew. And we will also meet his newborn baby for the first time. Another patio, another party, an extension into our lives of his lifelong friends and family…people important to us because they are important to him.
It’s easy to forget, during these times of joyful celebration, that families are often hard-won blessings. There is a sister who has disavowed family ties and refuses any contact. Insults, never retracted, have been forgiven but not forgotten. Even with uncles and nieces on the patio, we feel the tinge of unspoken family resentments not yet healed, but set aside for the time being.
God sets the lonely in families. Like the break of dawn, families are another of God’s common miracles. They are so expected, so common and ever-present, that it’s easy to forget God’s part in their creation.
Unlike the sunrise, however, they are God’s special miracle of creation: our union with the Creator is required to make the miracle. What a blessing born of the miracle of forgiveness I have experienced this month. Letting go of past insults, my sister-in-law and I came together on a business trip and enjoyed a seaside evening of dinner, talking, and laughing. Family restored…by God’s healing touch.
No better picture of the healing restoration of God’s touch can I think of than another approaching family event…a wedding. And this wedding will be no uncommon miracle. It is a testimony to God’s mercy as He works with our imperfections.
Only a year ago, two high school teenagers rejected the patient counsel of parents and gave into passion and temptation. They created a new life.
While this was the classic “problem pregnancy,” God’s own patient counsel worked in the hearts of the family. Rejecting the idea that any problem was too big for their Heavenly Father, the parents committed love and acceptance to their daughter, her boyfriend, and their developing baby.
For nine months the seeds of human love were nurtured with prayer and submission to God’s Word. Where temptation might have prompted anger, accusation, and rejection, instead obedience to the Lord created restraint, patience, and love. And where humans cooperate with Divine Creation, God sets the lonely in families.
As the teenagers accepted human and godly counsel, their baby was born into God’s promises. Over the many succeeding months, the new mother and father have been able to create godly love from physical love. And next week they will give their son the gift of family, becoming husband and wife.
With my feet up and my eyes closed, His words tug at my heart. The psalmist from centuries before is always able to reach into my modern life as a brother and share a smile or tear. He is a good companion for the mornings, a kinship of God’s eternal family.
God’s many common miracles…the power of His creation shines bright in the sun and rolls strong in the ocean currents. Greater still, the blessing of His creation calls to us as His helpers, His agents, His children. God sets the lonely in families.