Small Town Kinship
I enjoyed the recent column from another writer in the paper about kinship in small counties and towns. My wife grew up a thousand miles from Monticello and Jasper County. Needless to say, she was not related to anyone around here.
She is forever amused at my pointing out to her who her relatives are around here. My wife went to being related to no one to being related to seemingly everyone, all because she said “I do” to someone from Jasper County.
We all like to know that people know us by name through family members, church members, and co-workers. There are probably few people who care to be simply forgotten by others.
Living in a small town or a small county brings both blessings and curses. People know as much as they want to know about you, which sometimes, is more than you care for them to know. However, living where people know you is sometimes of great comfort.
Recently while shopping at a mall for shoes, we watched an event unfold. A little girl went up to the cashier in the shoe-store and said she could not find her parents. Watching this unfold made us proud of this little girl. She didn’t go looking for her parents; she went to an employee in the store. The employee contacted security who helped bring the parents and the little girl back together.
Before the security officers arrived, I saw a lady walking very quickly through the mall. She would look over the railings and then move on down the mall in a quick manner, looking in stores and all around.
It reminded me of a hen frantically looking for baby chicks. I told myself – this is the mom of the missing girl.
Minutes later, the mom and dad were coming back toward the store. I suppose they decided to back-track where they had been, which brought them back to the store and a reunion with their child. The mom did not look pleased with the little girl.
We wanted to say we were proud of her for choosing the right person to contact who could help her. We were pleased with the outcome of this event. I bet these parents and this child learned a very big lesson, which we hope they don’t repeat anytime soon.
This event reminded me of the story in the Bible of Jesus being left behind by his parents. Eventually they backtracked and found him in a temple talking with others about the things of God.
Sometimes as adults we leave the church behind, intentionally, or by accident. Then we realize we have forgotten or lost something in life. When we start back-tracking to the places we’ve been, we end up back at a church. Here we find what has been missing in our lives – a personal relationship with someone who always knows who we are and whose we are – Jesus Christ.
I hope and pray every parent teaches their child who and where to go in a time of unexpected separation from them. Likewise, I hope and pray that all of us never get separated from God. If we do, then I suggest we go to a church. At church, we will encounter both people and a God who cares about us as a valuable creation in this world.