Yesterday morning, my hubby was out of the house at 2:30 a.m. to go up to L.A. and run the inaugural Los Angeles Rock N'Roll 1/2 Marathon. The girls and I still headed off to church, just with one less pair of hands on deck to help get everyone dressed and ready to go. We did fairly well and sidled into the back of church five minutes late or so; I told the girls it was better to be there a little late than to not go at all. All in all, though, the morning really didn't feel all that hectic, for which I was thankful.
While drinking coffee and chatting with friends after church, one of our priests came over to me and said he thought it was wonderful that I had gotten up and out the door that morning to come to church with the girls without Augustus. He and his wife and another couple proceeded to invite me and the girls out for lunch as a treat to us. We all went to a nice restaurant together and had a lovely lunch and visit. The girls managed to employ their "formal dinner manners" for nearly the entire meal and were quite pleasant, if I do say so myself. Augustus surprised us by being able to make it back down to San Diego to join us for lunch, also, which added to the fun.
In retrospect, as I was thinking back to our time yesterday, I realized just how blessed my family really is in the generosity that has been shown to us by all of our friends and family with whom we have regular interaction. We are a family of 7 which could be an intimidation factor when inviting us out for a meal at a restaurant or into someone's home; and yet, in our experience, it is usual to go to others' homes to share in a meal and fellowship. I feel extra, especially blessed by my own experience when I reflect on the reality of many big families in America that are not so fortunate as to have friends and/or family that welcome them with open arms into their homes for meals, parties, or just to visit. So, to those of you reading this that know big families, I encourage you to consider inviting them over to your home for a meal or another fun event. (I am not saying this to my own friends who already go above and beyond the call of generosity in this area). It may seem like launching into the unknown when imagining your home being filled with a small army of children not your own, but I encourage you to take the challenge nonetheless. Just be sure to put breakable objects and precious items out of reach and be prepared for the joy of managed chaos. A big family that you know will be blessed by your generosity and who knows, maybe you will realize that you, in turn, are being blessed, too.
And to the wonderful friends that took us out to lunch yesterday, thank you for the lovely time and may the Lord bless you for the love that you have shown us!
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