I remember when I was a little girl my dad got some old family videos, they were from old reels that he was transferring to VHS. Yes, long before DVDs even existed. I don’t know the process, but I remember how much it meant to my dad, to watch these people he held dear on screen. They were his family and they were special to him. Though most I never met, or was just too young to remember. I remember sitting there though on our stairs thinking, who were these people in black and white smiling joyfully? Clearly, they were surrounded by people they loved. These people were my ancestors. I remember my dad trying to share whom was whom. It was special to watch my dad get so excited looking back on all those people that were so important to him when he was young. Though I don’t know most of them, or remember them, and most have since passed, I smile fondly at the memory. Sitting on those steps, inside our small apartment as my dad lit up with joy. That’s what’s so special about loving people; loving family. The memories carry on within us for years, throughout generations; in one way or another. I did not know those people the same way, or if at all, like he did. But their love, and their joy remained long after the video was taken. God blesses us with people in our lives to love. May we love them well, hang tight to all we have of them, and show our children the kind of love that God wants us to share with one another. So someday, we can continue sharing that love through future generations. I think back and remember how much it meant to him, to see those faces of a time long since passed, but a love that still deeply remains.

Erin Fitts-Brower 
Love that remains

Psalm 133:1 NIV

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!