Last weekend I attended the marriage of my sister-in-law.  The wedding brought together a good part of my family.

I looked around and there were all shapes and sizes of Johnsons and Batelaans and Coles and Blumbergs.

They came from Asia, Europe, Africa and America.  There were brown, black and white folk.  Some were affluent, others financially struggling.  There were Christians, Jews, and atheists along with a healthy group of people who are still figuring that one out.  Some were outgoing and talkative.  Others shy and laconic.  Young.  Old.  All shapes and sizes.

It was an amazingly disparate group.  But at the same time one of the most united I’ve seen.

And yes.  The uniting force is love.

And it is not just children who love their parents and parents who love their children (which seems to be increasingly rare).  But it is love that goes beyond beliefs and lifestyles and personalities.  A love that goes beyond any expectations of benefits.  Love beyond obligation.

Just … love.

I believe that is the world God wanted when He created it.

And I smile because God’s blessed me with a tiny but delicious morsel of just that with my family.