Family...

This week I was reminding of the blessing of family. Somehow last Sunday, Ike regained strength hitting Western Kentucky. They say winds were in the 40 to 50 mile range with gusts of 60 to 75 miles per hour.

Most of the damage right around us was minor. Some lost houses because trees landed on them; my grandparents lost half of their barn; we lost some trees and just a bit of old siding. The tough part for us and for thousands in the area was the loss of electricity. Our power went out Sunday morning and didn't come back until sometime Tuesday afternoon. We were surprised to get it back because we had been told it would be Wednesday at the earliest. Also over 3,000 customers provided by our power company still had none as of Tuesday night.

So Sunday we worked about half a day trying to clean up. Then we went to my grandparents' house. For the next two nights we stayed there. We shared large meals and lots of laughter. It was like the holidays. My cousins and I used to joke that we only saw one another on Christmas and Thanksgiving. The truth is, we were pretty close and those were the only guaranteed meetings of all the members of the family.

Now it is true. We only all get together at Christmas. And with my overseas travel and my families, this year will be the first time since 2003 that we have all been together.

We weren't all together this week, but several of us were there. It was nice to sit together at the same table. It was nice to share stories and share food. It was nice to play with babies and give hugs. It was nice to be family.

For the most part I have spent the last 10 or 12 years away from family. It makes each reunion more of a blessing. This week was a blessing disguised as a damaging storm. I only hope others were allowed to experience some blessing in the midst of the storm.