My first married Christmas was an Oak Ridge Christmas. So we packed our bags, piled gifts for family into the car and made our way through the mountains and over the state line. We arrived late in the evening, and the scene that unfolded was like something out of a holiday movie.
The door was flung open, bags were dropped right in the hallway, hugs were passed all around and we were ushered from the cold night into the cozy warmth of a house full of family.
In the days that followed, it could have been easy to feel left out. The cousins had traditions that were built over years and years, ones I knew nothing about. There were games played and tea cakes baked and movies watched. All thing that had been done every other year for a lifetime. But I don't think there was a time I didn't feel like I belonged. They showed me how the games worked, taught me how to mix up the dough and made sure there was room for me with everyone else piled into the living room to watch White Christmas.
And Granny and Granddad along with the aunts and uncles were the same. They asked questions to find out who I am and what makes me that way. They included me in dinner table conversation and made sure I felt as at home with their family as I did with mine.
The Oak Ridge house was already full to the brim with life and laughter, love and joy and peace. They didn't need to include me to make it all complete. And yet they welcomed me with open arms. They intentionally pulled me in and made me feel every bit as loved as their blood relatives.
They proved something I learned in my own home growing up - there is always room for one more.
Have you ever been the "one more?" Was there ever a time you welcomed one more into your home with open arms?
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Hard to believe, but we're three weeks into a 31-day series on lessons I've learned from my family. If you're missed any, you can catch up right here.
1 comments:
Wow! Reading that just gave me such a warm cozy feeling :) My experience was actually the opposite. My husband's parents were divorced and his mom was also an only child. My dad, on the other hand, had siblings and oodles of cousins and I had 2 sistrs. I remember the first Thanksgiving Day there were only going to be 3 of us...my husband, my mother in law, and me. I cried. I just couldn't imagine how it was going to "feel" like a holiday. I've grown up a lot since then. :)
I'm glad your husband's family welcomed you in such a warm and friendly way. You are blessed!
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