I'm going to break the rules just a little bit. Today's challenge is to write a letter of thankfulness to God. I'm going to write a letter, but to a group of people I thank God for every day. (Mom, you might need to go grab a few tissues)
Dear Shimer family,
I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about how God puts families together. How does He plan how many people and what personalities should go into each family? I have spent a lot of time thinking about our family.
And I don't think it's fair that by the time you're old enough to really appreciate and understand your family, you've normally moved to a place in life where you don't get to spend as much time with them. It is 1000% true that I am who I am today because of the family I was raised in. And I know I've said thank you before, but I want to say thank you again. (And I want to publicly thank God for putting together our family the way that He did. We're pretty amazing.)
Daddy, thank you for taking to the time to make sure we knew that we were important to you. Yes, you worked a lot. You needed to. There were lots of people counting on you. But you were also at choir concerts and plays and coaching soccer teams (sooooo many soccer teams) and helping with homework and teaching me how to drive (and for the second time when I needed how to learn how to drive manual). I don't know if you ever felt like you missed out, but I never felt like I was missing you. I'm also thankful that my life in China has helped me to understand even better how important giving gifts is to you. Every one is always amazed at the packages you and mama send me. Birthday and Christmas boxes are especially amazing. I can see the thought and love that went into them and I feel loved.
Mama, thank you from the bottom of my heart for teaching me that there's always room for one more and the love in a home is much more important than the "stuff" in a house. I can think back over countless times where we brought friends home and you were always willing to empty the fridge and freezer while making sure that everyone felt at home. You made sure we all sat down at the dinner table and talked about our day. You asked us questions and you answered questions. You sent cards with me on so many different trips to remind me each day that I was gone that you loved me and that you were thinking about me. And maybe you wished that our furniture was nicer, but I never felt better than I was at home. . .and that's still true today.
Philip, thank you allowing God to work in and through you and for being so willing to share what He is doing in your life. There were times, especially in high school, that I could only see what made us different. And I couldn't see how that would ever change. But now I am often amazed at how we are learning some of the same things at the same time. I'm not sure when, but God got ahold of you and started transforming you into a man who seeks hard after Him. And in seeking hard after Him, I can see a growing desire in you to encourage others to seek Him in authentic ways. Your openness encourages the same in others. And I am thankful for our conversations where I get to get a glimpse of what you're learning and learn from you.
Gina, thank you for being willing to be a part of our family. We've been friends for a long time and I would like to think that our friendship would have stood the test of time even if you hadn't married my brother. But, thankfully you did. And now I get a front row seat to watch as you've grown as a wife and a mother (and a member of the Shimer family). You care. It's as simple as that. You care and because you care, you act. I know that there are hundreds of families around the church that have benefited from your work at the MRC. And as we've gotten older, I have also gotten to appreciate how intentional you are in finding out about the people you care about. You ask good questions. You ask hard questions. And you listen to the answers.
Jesse, Shannon, Julie, Craig, Maxton, Deacon and Rohan--your turn is coming. This turned into a bigger post than I intended. I have not forgotten about you. I can't wait to write about you. I love you!
Dear Shimer family,
I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about how God puts families together. How does He plan how many people and what personalities should go into each family? I have spent a lot of time thinking about our family.
And I don't think it's fair that by the time you're old enough to really appreciate and understand your family, you've normally moved to a place in life where you don't get to spend as much time with them. It is 1000% true that I am who I am today because of the family I was raised in. And I know I've said thank you before, but I want to say thank you again. (And I want to publicly thank God for putting together our family the way that He did. We're pretty amazing.)
Daddy, thank you for taking to the time to make sure we knew that we were important to you. Yes, you worked a lot. You needed to. There were lots of people counting on you. But you were also at choir concerts and plays and coaching soccer teams (sooooo many soccer teams) and helping with homework and teaching me how to drive (and for the second time when I needed how to learn how to drive manual). I don't know if you ever felt like you missed out, but I never felt like I was missing you. I'm also thankful that my life in China has helped me to understand even better how important giving gifts is to you. Every one is always amazed at the packages you and mama send me. Birthday and Christmas boxes are especially amazing. I can see the thought and love that went into them and I feel loved.
Mama, thank you from the bottom of my heart for teaching me that there's always room for one more and the love in a home is much more important than the "stuff" in a house. I can think back over countless times where we brought friends home and you were always willing to empty the fridge and freezer while making sure that everyone felt at home. You made sure we all sat down at the dinner table and talked about our day. You asked us questions and you answered questions. You sent cards with me on so many different trips to remind me each day that I was gone that you loved me and that you were thinking about me. And maybe you wished that our furniture was nicer, but I never felt better than I was at home. . .and that's still true today.
Philip, thank you allowing God to work in and through you and for being so willing to share what He is doing in your life. There were times, especially in high school, that I could only see what made us different. And I couldn't see how that would ever change. But now I am often amazed at how we are learning some of the same things at the same time. I'm not sure when, but God got ahold of you and started transforming you into a man who seeks hard after Him. And in seeking hard after Him, I can see a growing desire in you to encourage others to seek Him in authentic ways. Your openness encourages the same in others. And I am thankful for our conversations where I get to get a glimpse of what you're learning and learn from you.
Gina, thank you for being willing to be a part of our family. We've been friends for a long time and I would like to think that our friendship would have stood the test of time even if you hadn't married my brother. But, thankfully you did. And now I get a front row seat to watch as you've grown as a wife and a mother (and a member of the Shimer family). You care. It's as simple as that. You care and because you care, you act. I know that there are hundreds of families around the church that have benefited from your work at the MRC. And as we've gotten older, I have also gotten to appreciate how intentional you are in finding out about the people you care about. You ask good questions. You ask hard questions. And you listen to the answers.
Jesse, Shannon, Julie, Craig, Maxton, Deacon and Rohan--your turn is coming. This turned into a bigger post than I intended. I have not forgotten about you. I can't wait to write about you. I love you!
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