His Own Family

His Own Family

(“But if someone does not provide for his own, especially his own family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:6)

My own are now gone, victims of genetics and illness.
My own are the ones who called me “their own”,
the ones who tied the first laces of our shoes;
my brother and my sisters, younger than I;
the ones who taught us to water trees at the roots
not at the trunk,
and who lived through us a degree too much and
too often; but less than most.

I read an article that angered me, that makes me wince
at being a Christian,
a writer who insisted this verse, so brimming with family
love,
and family provision,
made every parent suspect whose
children gleefully waited for the public school bus
every day.

Oh the comments that overflowed, the agreement from
Bible readers who do not read their Bibles.

They:

            Push your kids through. Hold them back a year. Give them 

            more opportunities than the next child. Make sure they memorize

            the words, excel at sports, take first chair flute, never a bit part

            in the musicals. “ Spend your time, climb faster so their

            lives are not the disaster that the children up the road have become.

Paul, to Timothy, paraphrased:

            Don’t let widows spend a day without your care. Honor the parents

            before you; save the sweetest moments for the parents before them.

            While some widows, silly and superstitious; the real widow is

            a source, a comforter and affectionate blanket of hope. Don’t

            let darkness darken her windows any day at all without

            the laughter of children at her learning and stories filling

            her moments and increasing God’s glory. Never let her

            slumber be preceded by alone. Care for your own!

My own are gone now; Mom decades before Dad, and, if they had
lived longer, they might be in our home; alongside our youngest one
learning Christ-like affection, and family, before hopping on the
school bus for the day.