Love 'em like family

Been thinking about Hebrews 13.... A LOT.

We all have them.... The people in our lives whom we love because well, we have to.:)
I am one of three children, both my parents still with us; one of 15 grandchildren on one side and one of 7 on the other.
Cousins are family, you like them most times, love them sometimes, but there are some who are not and don't necessarily need to be a part of our lives. Sound cold, but it's a fact.
My brother and sister.... I love them. Don't always like what they do or say, but if we have a 'thing', we try to figure it out.
We go for weeks.... Sometimes months without talking, simply because it's costly. So we make do with what we can. We message more often now thanks to technology. We. Go. Years. Without. Seeing. Each. Other. :~{
It doesn't change how I feel about them. Doesn't change the fact that I miss them more than words can say, or that there are days when I ACHE for them to be near.
We're connected. No distance or quarrel could ever change that.

That said, I know that some families don't work that way. That brothers and sisters can be downright nasty to each other. My girls are sometimes nicer to their friends than to each other- my 'standard' for that is "When it comes down to it, all you have, is each other. Friends come and go and change, but family is family!"

I had to think about these things... the people who are my 'brothers and sisters'. I had to charge myself and be found guilty of loving too little, not enough, conditionally and circumstantially.

I love that we have different versions and paraphrases of God's word. Some just say it better.

Let brotherly love continue. (Hebrews 13:1 KJV)

Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. (Hebrews 13:1-4 MSG)

Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. (Hebrews 13:1 NLT)

Keep loving each other like family. (Hebrews 13:1 CEB)



It would appear that I have some work to do.