Family reunion brings together many unexpected branches
We are all invited into God’s family tree
*Welcome to my Glorygram and to my table! Pull up a chair and join me for a bowl of rotini pasta with my mama’s meat ragu on top and thick slice of focaccia bread. Each week I write this letter as an arrow pointing you back to God's glory and the ways He is working in our world.
The billowing clouds look gilded as the sun lies down behind the Rocky Mountains. And just as she drifts off to sleep, a dance of amethyst, topaz and midnight blue colors whirl across the sky. If you lean in, you might see the lines of trees upon trees extending their branches toward heaven. This view sharpens in my memory like a Polaroid photo.
Our family has been drinking in the view of the Colorado landscape for the last week. My mama’s extended family meets every two or three years for a big family reunion in different cities around the country where clusters of our cousins live. This year, some 85 cousins converged in Littleton, Colorado for three days of memory making.
Think My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but Italian style with all the food, generations mixing, and stories of the old country. That’s amore!
Some of our traditions at these reunions include a picnic in the park with a bocce ball tournament, a banquet with music and dancing from all different eras, and lots of time around the table playing games and telling stories about aunts, uncles, and grandparents who have gone on to Heaven.
My mama’s great grandparents immigrated to the United States from a little town called San Giovanni en Fiore in Southern Italy. Their three sons represent the three main branches of our family tree from which the various generations originated.
More than three decades ago, my mama started researching our family tree. She filled in the spouses and children, the new branches of descendants that extended from the original branches. I remember hand lettering and coloring the poster boards. Some form of the family tree is always displayed at our reunions. Now other cousins continue compiling details for our family tree and share it in little binders.
Behind every name and every branch is a story. These stories weave together our past and present.
Through the years, we have also welcomed a beautiful mix of unexpected branches and stories into our family tree — a cousin who married a Japanese-American woman, several who have spouses with Latin roots, and my mama who married my mixed-race dad, who is Filipino, Chinese, and Polynesian.
At this year’s reunion, there was a gaggle of lighter-haired kids running around. Now it’s more the norm to find names among the branches that are different from the Tonys, Marias, Franks, Angelas, and Guiseppes, which were more common in the first generation. It’s the beautiful blending of cultures and settling in new cities that make our family tree unique today.
Truth be told, sometimes family trees can be messy. The branches become gnarly and tangled. Some branches are broken off way too soon because of divorce, separation, or death. We might be tempted to hide these stories, but they are an important part of God’s redemption story too.
In my case, my husband Ericlee died of cancer at age forty. We could view that as a broken branch of our family tree, but God brought my new husband Shawn and grafted him in. He officially adopted my three daughters and we are all Gilmore Youngs now— another piece of our redemption story.
As we read through the Bible, we discover that God’s family tree had its share of twisted branches and unexpected stories as well.
His family tree brings together people of diverse nations and backgrounds.
I think about Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute who hid the Israelite spies sent to scope out the Promised Land. Members of her family were the only survivors of Israel’s attack on Jericho, because she helped them escape. She married one of those spies and was invited into God’s family tree, moving from outsider to insider because of her courage and reverence for God. She is one of five mothers mentioned in Jesus’ family genealogy in Matthew 1.
Then there was Ruth, a Moabite woman who married into a Jewish family. Historically, the Moabites and Jews were enemies, but God creatively brought together branches of His family tree to include Ruth.
In Ruth 1:16, we read Ruth’s pledge to her widowed mother-in-law Naomi that changed everything: “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”
These words mark a shift in Ruth’s life. After she was widowed, Ruth was released by her mother-in-law to return to her own family. Yet, Ruth steps into an unexpected story and proclaims her trust in Naomi’s God, Yahweh. She leaves her family and accompanies Naomi back to her home in Bethlehem.
Ruth meets a man named Boaz, who happens to be the son of Rahab and a relative of Naomi. Through a wild weaving of unexpected events, the two are eventually married. Because of her courageous choice to follow God, Ruth is grafted into His family tree.
Not only is Ruth adopted into a new family, she’s also blessed with a son and eventually becomes the great-grandmother to King David himself. We might be tempted to skip over those lists of names and genealogies in the Bible, but they are significant. If you check out the family tree Matthew records, that means she’s great-times-forty-grandma to God’s own son Jesus, our ultimate redeemer relative.
Like Ruth, we are invited into God’s family tree when we choose to believe in His Son, His death, and His resurrection.
Friend, you are chosen for God’s family.
You are not an accidental or peripheral branch. You were invited in on purpose.
Your story may just be unfolding like a new shoot on the family tree.
**Redeemer: God’s Lovingkindness in the Book of Ruth is my new 6-week Bible study experience, including a beautiful workbook with original art and video teachings. This journey through the book of Ruth helps us understand God’s heart for the vulnerable. The book and videos release February 11, 2025. Add it to your Amazon wishlist today!
Glory recommendations
Each week I like to share links to some of my own work or resources that are inspiring me and my family to chase after God’s glory! Here are five for you to check out this week:
Each month I give away a book or other resource to one of my Glorygram readers. The June giveaway is the (in)courage 18-month devotional planner, which features devotionals by a diversity of writers. Embrace each season with the new Seeing God in Every Season Planner. This agenda planner meets you where you are, in the middle of your busy schedule, with encouragement, truth from God's Word, and space to keep you organized. Every month you will read an excerpt from a story by an (in)courage writer, sharing her heart for mercy, hope, wisdom, or peace... and always asking God to meet you in this season. The weekly planning spreads include Scripture, space for notetaking, and three pages of stickers to personalize your planner and help you stay organized all year long. This 18-month academic planner begins in July 2024 and ends in December 2025 perfect for managing your family's schedule, school events, and church activities. Don’t miss the devotional I wrote for the planner. To enter to win, comment with why you would love to win this one! This is the last week to enter.
Traveling this summer? I write restaurant reviews for Yelp. I have several collections for different cities if you need recommendations for foodie favorites in the places you are traveling. You can follow me here and check out the collections I’ve created for cities, including Portland, Chicago, Nashville, Denver, New York, SoCal, San Diego, San Francisco, and more.
Looking for some fun summer reading and adventures with the fam? Chasing God’s Glory is a children’s picture book I wrote to help you learn how to discover God’s glory with your kids. Follow Zayla through the neighborhood as she and mama go on a treasure hunt for glory. You can go on your own adventure with your kids using this book as a starting point for conversation.
Do you need a fun way to keep your kids busy over summer break without breaking the bank? Global Glory Chasers is for the family that loves to discover and explore together. We’ve done the work for you and curated all the resources you need so you can travel to a new country each month from the comfort of your home. Make it a Saturday night tradition or something to pull out on a weekday with no plans. Explore some new foods and settle in for a movie or book that might instigate some good family discussion. We want you to make this experience your own! More details on how it works here!
Have you always dreamed of writing a children's book? Join us on June 27 for a one-hour webinar, Building Blocks for Creating Great Kids Books, designed to help you get started with writing books for kids. Multi-published author Xochitl Dixon will help you master the ten essential story blocks necessary for crafting great children’s books. You will learn the power of the first essential step toward building a strong foundation and be equipped to craft an idea into a first draft, add depth through the revision process, and prayerfully work as you wait to hear back from potential publishers. Ticket sales go toward funding of the Redbud Women of Color Mentoring program.
Friend, I’m so grateful you are a part of my Glorygram tribe! For the past eight years, I've been sharing reflections and resources on grief, running, leadership, food, family, and faith. I count it an incredible privilege to connect with each of you through this Glorygram. Are you interested in more perks and robust content? For $50 per year (or $5 a month), you'll gain access to my full archive, bonus posts, fun summer recipes, and sneak peeks of my coming books! While the free weekly emails will continue, our subscription-only content will be an extension of the foundation we've built together. To subscribe and unlock this exclusive content, simply hit the Subscribe button and choose what level you’d like. Founding members will also get a personalized, signed copy of one of my books! Thank you to so many of you who have already generously given!) I am so grateful for all of your prayers and support.
I would really enjoy winning this planner. I would appreciate the encouragement that I would receive as I write down each appointment and other valuable information to help me through the year.
So blessed to be chosen. I would love this planner. Thank you ❤️