ex nihilo

ex nihilo usually refers to God's act of creating everything out of nothing. i think it also applies to what my parents did in raising our family.

i read a book years ago that said that there's several main ways that families show love. my folks nailed many of them...and that's in a time that many in the boomer generation, and certainly in the generations prior, only focused on (or even knew of) one of them.

my folks blessed us with provision...food, shelter, good clothes, vacations, allowances....all the physical stuff that makes life good. my folks were spiritual and moral guides. they instructed us. they taught us about the spiritual life and about God. they introduced us to God, the bible, and took us to church. more than just "taking us to church," they modeled a commitment to jesus. my mother homeschooled each of us a least a couple years and gave us an intellectual foundation. my dad was a wise guy. :) i have many stories of genius discipline strategies. i could always count on a creative discipline to fit a crime.

and as i hear them talk about their childhood, they didn't have much of that. some of the physical provision, but almost none of the instruction. they started it out of nothing, ex nihilo, out of their upbringing.

my hope is that i can find new ways of showing love like them, add to their work, and continue in the path that they have lived out before me.