The family of muskoxen...

This Family…

Laughs & learns

Prays & protects

Apologizes & appreciates

Works & worships

Fights & forgives

Teases & trusts

Gives & grows

Believes & belongs

Loves & lasts… Forever

One of my closest friends became a gramma this week when her sweet son & his beautiful wife had their first baby. I was completely swept away by their news & all of the adorable pictures of their little one.

It also made me very conscious about how much my own little family is changing. Our oldest son will be marrying the precious girl he met on his Florida internship in just a few short months... We are so excited about her officially becoming part of our family & starting this new chapter of life together. 

Recently, I think partly because we are now living in a tiny apartment, people have been asking us some interesting questions about how our family functions. I guess in some ways it does seem weird that our boys don’t mind sleeping on the sofa bed when they come home & none of us really minds being contained in one room. 

We’ve always been a close family. 

I think that to some extent this may be because in our early years, Chuck’s military service moved us around quite a bit… or maybe that, like it or not, his current work in the ministry puts us in a somewhat unique & sometimes lonely position. As a mama, what I’d really like to believe is that we have become this way because when we started our family, we were intentional about what we built it on. It has always been really important to us that our kids know that they are our priority. We are committed to them. We are committed to always pick up the phone when they call (even if it’s 2:40 in the morning & they are only calling to sing happy birthday) & committed to soaking up every bit of quality time we can get with them. No matter where they are or what they do, we want them to know that we are here to encourage, support & love them. Now don’t get me wrong, we are far from perfect. Sometimes we are moody, crabby, insensitive & sometimes… GASP… we are annoying.  

When Chuck & I were talking about this last week over lunch, he likened us to muskoxen. I had no idea what he was talking about so when we got home I researched the muskoxen online. Almost immediately I fell in love with them. 

The musk ox live in Alaska. They survive the harsh conditions of the arctic tundra because their long hair & woolly undercoat ward off frost & provide insulation. They are shaggy & social & have a sturdy build. 

Hmmm… I almost laughed out loud.  

What was my husband trying to tell me?

& then I saw it: 

Muskoxen live in small herds & have a distinctive defensive behavior: when the herd is threatened, the bulls & cows will face outward to form a stationary ring or semicircle around the calves. The bulls are usually the front line for defense against predators with the cows and juveniles gathering close to them. 

That cinched it. We ARE the muskoxen. 

As Chuck & I continued to reminisce about our family, I began to wonder… should this be any different for the way we feel about or treat our spiritual family?

We really are a small herd… making a life journey across the cold tundra, searching along the way for companionship, food to keep us strong, shelter from the wind & safety from our predators. God has designed us to live in community together. We need each other.

‘If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— 

then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. 

Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. 

Put yourself aside, & help others get ahead. 

Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. 

Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.’ 

–Philippians 2:1-4