Gratitude for my In Laws...

I know people have horror stories about their in-laws and become stealth about avoiding them like the plague, but I was with my in laws this last week for our summer vacation and had a 12 hour ride home last night to think about the whole experience.  There are certainly inconveniences about packing together in one location trying to keep a schedule and some sanity, but the times of watching our family "be together" was nourishing.

I felt like I wanted to share several things I love about my In-Laws fresh off the vacation while the memories and feelings are still vivid...

1. Heidi's mom and dad live for our spiritual strength.  For better or worse, they are intertwined with the state of our hearts and though at times that enmeshes and embroils them in our drama, it keeps their finger on the pulse of our spiritual health no matter how weak or strong it may be at any given moment.  There is nothing more important to them than whether we are walking solidly in our faith...that goes for their children and grandchildren both.  I would go so far as to say that it is their obsession.

2. They long for everyone to have a refreshing experience when we're home with them.  They do all they can to create moments and memories so that everyone is enjoying themselves.  They don't want anyone to be bored or uninvolved which means they are always looking for anyone that is drifting toward the fringes and pulling them back into the current of community.  Like a sheepdog that circles the flock to keep them together, they are constantly on surveillance to make sure each soul is safe and secure.

3. They gravitate to the things that are hard without complaint in order for everyone else to be relaxed.  I don't know anyone more driven to get things prepared and to "take care of things" so that everyone can dwell together in relative peace.  They are constantly cleaning things up, getting things ready, and running to get something that is needed at the store to pull something off.  They are like worker ants who thanklessly lay down their lives for the rest of the colony.

4. They have a pattern of prayer that is an anchor for the soul.  Even on this vacation, my father-in-law fasted on a particular day to center his heart in prayer.  I don't know what in particular prompted this, but it's not rare for him to do such a thing.  He and mom are vigilant in their intercession for their children and grandchildren.  As Paul described in 1 Thessalonians, "they really live knowing that we are walking in the faith".  There is true solidarity spiritually with our ups and downs and the only way they know to attack certain unknowns and unknowables is to storm heaven and swarm Jesus with an importunity that provokes him to act on their behalf.  

5. They aren't the kind of grandparents that gripe and complain about how they are inconvenienced or exhausted or uncomfortable or struggling...in many ways they shield us from their maladies and difficulties because they don't want to burden us with the weight of their lives.  We talked about this a little during our family time this last week and how important it is for them to know that they have permission to let us know what they are feeling so that we can support them...we want to come along side them the way they repeatedly have come along side us both in prayer and action.  The bulwark of prayer they are for us cannot be overstated.  

6. They are faithful about the disciplines of faith.  This might not sound like all that big of a deal, but to see a Bible laying open on their bed or on the countertop tells me something about the "daily bread" that has sustained them through every season of their life.  I'm not saying they don't have times where Bible study and Prayer waver, but I think it's the exception to the rule.  They are dependent on being with God and letting him speak to them as they move into the day.  The older I get, the more I realize what a heritage it is when parents faithfully spend time in the Word as they begin the day.  It's a legacy that I hope to carry on myself in the same way I try to faithfully write in this blog to capture life and the musings of my heart. 

7. They have always been sensitive to spiritual warfare and the attack of the Enemy.  Because of this, they act as guardians over our family praying the "name of Jesus" and the "blood of Christ" over every aspect of our family from sickness to ministry to encouragement to emotional strength.  They pray life and light into our hearts as we battle the darkness that presses in around us.  They pray for our children's friendships that God would protect them from deviance and depression.  They pray walls of protection around our homes that Satan is looking to subtly inhabit with his deceptive presence.  They pray against the lies of the Devil that God would help us combat those beliefs with truth, a truth that sets us free.  They pray that our love for Jesus would increase, keeping our hearts sensitive to the Spirit of God and the things that please his heart and ultimately satisfy ours souls.  They battle.  They go to war in prayer over each member of our extended family.  They pray without ceasing for deliverance from the evil one.  They believe warfare is real and they live like it.

8. I could go on, but I think I'll end with this.  They have loved their children deeply and dearly from the beginning, and they aren't about to stop now.  I have watched their affection deepen and become more intense as the years have progressed.  It hasn't waned one bit.  For all the things that matter in the world--and many things do--nothing is even a close second to how much their kids and grandkids matter to them.  It consumes them, to the point that it probably has costed them length of life if I'm being honest.  It is a love that will drop everything and expend anything to get to the need and meet it.  They would stop at nothing to rescue if they knew there was one more option...there is no limit to their love.  Their commitment to do all they can to leave a legacy of love is obvious and infectious...it will be remembered by being replicated in our home.  The tenacity of their affection is shared in words, but even more so, it is seen in action.  Just the opposite of most families, they live out the verse in I John where it says, "Dear friend, do no love in words alone, but also with action and truth."  Love is not sentiment to them, it is commitment of the highest degree...a commitment to live and die with family.  Wherever we all go, we're going there together...no questions asked.  That, my friends, is rarified air.

Today, I just wanted to take a moment and reflect in thanks for such amazing in-laws.  I want to thank them for loving their daughter, my wife, so well.  I can only hope to hold her in such high regard as they demonstrate time and time again.  I want to thank them for loving our children as fellow sojourners with their souls.  They have prayed them through some of the most difficult seasons of their lives, and I have a feeling that won't stop until the day they breathe their last breath.  The debt of my gratitude knows no bounds...I could never repay them for their steadfast shepherding.

It seemed like these things needed to be written down, reflected on, remembered, and hopefully replicated as we move into the great unknown called 'the future'.  I love them so much.