More to be thankful for

It's been a rough year with losing my mom, but there was a comfort this weekend as my family met relatives of my wife's we never knew existed. Apparently, her grandmother had had a child out of wedlock, allowed her to be adopted, and she'd grown up and come to know Christ just a few hours from us in Minnesota. We met four generations of faithful followers of Christ, including a cousin who had adopted eight children out of foster care after being told that one biological child was enough.

One of them had lost most of her hands and legs to an infection, but stole our hearts as she gamboled around the house almost as ably as any other child--my wife didn't even notice due to her activity and cheer.

How do they get to four faithful generations? I don't know completely, but I have a hunch it has something to do with worshipping together and then getting together each Sunday for a meal. Potlucks have an important part in (informal) Baptist theology, and our new family members sure showed us how powerful this can be.