To Whom Much is Given....

I cannot stop thinking about these words....so long I have interpreted them way too narrowly, but today, it hit me when I was reading Katie's blog (friend of my family's who lives in Uganda kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com). Her post today was all about Sweet Josie Love, my niece, coming home soon to my precious brother and his wife, and my friend. I was thinking about her story, weeping hearing Katie retell of how this sweet baby was put on her heart years ago and she waited and prayed for a family to come along and make her theirs. I was broken thinking about how it is my brother and his wife who are going to do this. I was laughing thinking about what the extended Mayernick family (this includes myself, as I was one for many years :-) is going to look like this year over the holidays, quite colorful, when it hit me... to whom much is given, much is expected. My brother and sister and I come from an amazing family. My parents are absolutely wonderful, not perfect, but oh so precious and loving. They gave us so much in the way of love growing up and taught me more about serventhood than anyone else I can name. Then there are my grandparents, who have left us a rich legacy of love and faith, local cousins and aunts and uncles, all the way to our more distant relatives, and distant only in bloodline, that live down south all over Alabama, Florida, and other SEC states ;-) whom we see at a huge reunion every year. I even am amazed at my sweet nieces and nephews whom I genuinely LOVE spending time with, and thier hearts and how full of love they are. These are some of the most precious people in the world to me, their love and service to one another, faitfulness to Jesus and his kingdom's purpose, is so very very rare on a scale of this magnitude. Don't get me wrong, we are ALL sinners saved by grace struggling in our own ways, to be conformed to His image, but, there is NO other family I would want to be a part of anywhere. What a rich, rich heritage. To whom much is given. Indeed we have been given much. I have ALWAYS desired to share my family with others. To bring them in for a meal or a holiday. I would drag any of you who would go with me to Roanoke, Alabama to witness for yourselves just a small taste of what I envision a heavenly reunion might be like. Now, we get to bring these children into this picture. I CAN"T WAIT!!! My husband is also blessed with sweet parents and siblings and their families whom will welcome our sweet Mia with open arms of love, just like our Sweet Saviour. To whom much is given....God did not give us these gifts so richly that we might sit on them, hoard, and boast. He did this with the challenge and expectation that we would reach out and extend this to those who have little. I cannot wait to see who else God will bring into our family circle! What about you? What has God so richly blessed you with?