Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Lack of Nearby Blood Relatives



I am blessed, living in a senior mobile home community in which I have made a lot of friends. However, I am often looked upon with sadness because I have no blood relatives to rely on. I never bore children - I lost them after 8 weeks each time I got pregnant in my younger years. I did help raise quite a few, though, and several were as close to me as if they were my own.

My “baby” brother is 70, and lives in another state but does not leave his property. We tease that he is almost literally a modern-day hermit. His wife travels the 25 miles into town for business or whatever they need. Any other blood relatives still alive, and there are lots of cousins, are on the side of the family who look down on our side of the family. So, blood relatives are really not a support-system for me.

Which takes me back to the community in which I live.

Folks do not realize that friends are worth more than gold. I might be broke and in financial difficulty, but no one could be happier than I am when I think of all the people I know and how much they mean to me. I wouldn’t trade them for anything, not even to be adopted by a millionaire.

So this is for others like me. We might not have tons of kids and grandchildren. Or maybe we've outlived all the blood relatives we cared about and who cared about us. And, yes, maybe we miss that joy. But for those of us who are blessed with friends and loving neighbors, we are not alone.

And, of course, we all have the comfort and support system of our Almighty Father.
 
Father, thank you for blessing me with the support system that I, personally, need. You know exactly who I need around me for friends, and exactly when I need those friends.  

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