It's the Berries!

So several of my cousins and I traveled from the Detroit Metro area to the aforementioned Upper Peninsula to visit more cousins. My cousin Lois was the head of the Copper Country Strawberry Festival in Chassell, MI. (http://www.einerlei.com/community/strawFest/home.html) This is a Lion's club thing for 62 years. Chassell grows small but yummy strawberries. And it's as good a reason as any to have a festival, I suppose.

Anyway, hundreds of people showed up. My cousins and I (along with sis) made shortcakes Friday night until we were ready to drop. They bailed while I helped clean up I might add. The new Strawberry Queen was crowned, there was a fish boil (yup) and a good time was had by all.

Saturday was the big PARADE. Apparently nobody wants to be parade judges so my cousin signed me up along with another cousin's friend. Oh, we judged an hour long parade with floats, cars, bands, clowns, fire trucks, (too many) Politicians and more. Real Americana. Good stuff.

My cousin the Strawberry Festival Head (therefore the "Queen Lion" by the way), then had us over to her house, which is about 12 feet from Portage lake, which is a body of water that is connected on both sides to Lake Superior. It separates the Keewenaw Peninsula from the rest of the U.P. I know you love the geography.

Always good time and fun with family, and we traveled over 500 miles to get together when the farthest of us here in Metro Detroit are about 25 miles away. Weird.

So I started to think about family, and how family is really God ordained. He created woman and man to be together and always talks about having many children, being fruitful and multiplying, etc. He even put the genealogy of Jesus in there, to connect the family of man to the family of God.

When we tear families apart through selfishness, (divorce, petty quarrels, etc.), we are tearing apart some of the basic framework of the Father's design for us. We are tearing ourselves apart. It's easy to look at family sometimes as a burden, whether it be aging issues, responsibility issues and the like. But, gee, when we look at family as not just a gift but an ordination from God to us, it sure looks more important.

Hey! Write, email or call someone in your family that you haven't really connected with in a long time. Do it today. Don't worry about being uncomfortable, these people have some of the same blood flowing in them you do. Family is always family. They might disappoint you, or run from you , or embarrass you. But I'll bet no one cares for you more, even when years and miles have separated you.

Here's to you, in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; Bless you all in Jesus' Name...You and your families, with a special shout out to mine.