Adventures in Being

The Prodigal Family at Thanksgiving

Tuesday 27 November 2007
Four generations, all in one cozy farmhouse on a cold, snowy, weekend in Michigan. Cold outside warm inside. Bleak outside bright and inviting inside. Snow on the ground, smoke spiraling up from the chimney, spreading its smell through the surrounding woods. From the soft clink of drinking cups and coffee mugs to the roaring and boisterous laughter from way down deep in the heart.
We have just returned from another memorable Thanksgiving with our Hotchkiss clan up in Michigan. I sometimes refer to them as the Prodigal Family because they, like our Jesus, are recklessly spendthrift and lavishly abundant in giving not only in a gastronomical sense or a material sense, but most importantly in a spiritual sense, in a Love sense.
Growing up as a boy, we used to spend Summers out in the country at either of my grandparents’ plantations; these were some of the best times of my childhood, despite the calluses on my city-boy hands from driving cattle and helping to fix tractors. And now, being with my wife's family, my family, at their farmhouse, is like reliving my childhood: the love, the laughter, the stories, the love, the traditions, the food, the smells, and always.... the love.
Grandpa showed his expertise at lulling Aydon to sleep. Grandma the perfect hostess: love and class rolled up in one. Sun showed us why she should be running her own restaurant, Willard shared his heart for the Kingdom and demonstrated his down to earth ideas for energy self-reliance. Hubert taught me a thing or two about his vocation and got my mind whirring. Jill loved on us like we were long lost puppies and just made us feel warm and at home.
Not all of the family could be with us: Angela, Austin, the Andrea's, the Beth's, Lynn & Jenny May. But they were with us, because we are all connected, we are all family. Our pasts are intertwined, our present a gift, and our futures inseparable.
For some this Thanksgiving, love ones were elsewhere, not yet born, or have left this earthly plane. But wherever we all are, we give Thanks for God's undying love.
Our family gives Thanks for you.
Now go out there and live and love like the Hotchkiss’s: Prodigal In Love.
Blessings,
Miles, Amy, Ashley, Austin, Abby, Aydon.