I Heard You Yelling, "More Pictures!"

So here they come:

The Grands and I are on the steps of Husan, which is the Lund family home in Farsund, Norway. But it is now the Town Hall. My great, great grandmother, Amelia married into the Lund family. However, the photo is missing Maggie, who just turned 18 on 6/23). She and Kristina headed home early for work and camp, where Maggie is working as a counselor.

Lily lives and works in Brooklyn now, where my grandmother, Ella, first landed, lived and worked as a maid, at age 15. Luke, age 21 is seated on the back row. He's a junior at U. of California at Santa Cruz.

Cool looking Basil, is 15, and will be a Sophomore in HS next year. And Poco (aka Kate) is looking all of her 14 years and ready to enter Ipswich HS next fall.

As for me, I'm feeling so happy to be nestled among my Grands. Although , I look like I'm about to slide off the steps. Maybe that's why I'm holding onto Basil's leg. Or maybe he's shoving me from behind.

Well, one evening, we left the kids back at the farm house we rented in Andalsnes, Norway. What a place Heather found through Air B&B. Such a great way to experience travel as a family. We took a cable car to the top of Mount Nesaksla. It was quite an engineering feat to build and a treat to dine at Eggen perched atop God's handiwork, which abounds in Norway. Kristina and Heather are on the right. And Chad, Matt and I are on the left. We were celebrating Father's Day, on a day of our choosing, and being together. Some of us dined on sea trout. Delicious!! I love imagining Jud seated in the chair that appears to be empty.

Back at Husan in Farsund, we gathered around some relative. Chad, Heather and Lily are to the left. Poco is perched on her cousin Luke's shoulders. But we're all enjoying time together in Norway, rain, drizzle or shine. And we experienced all. However, looking at this reminds me I'm shrinking, while the rest are growing. That's life

Well, this is me in protective mode. Daring this troll to come near my grandchildren! Basil thought we shared a resemblance.

My tech support just went swimming so I'll end with these pictures, for now. A picture is worth a thousand words, or more. But,as I've said more than once, words matter. They create pictures, but also have the potential to do great harm or good.

The stories we tell about each other, the bits and pieces we try to puzzle together into something meaningful, matter. It will take awhile to sift through written, spoken and experienced words, for me. But for today, I'm singing, "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be."

And it won't just be about seeing Jesus, as the song says. It will be about reuniting with those we knew on earth and connecting with those who were merely names from family lore, Ancestry.com or letters. And I believe that Grace, will continue mending and stitching us together, filling in the missing pieces to create something beautiful. It is, as the old song says, "Grace, grace God's grace, grace that still pardons and cleanses within." And, for sure, it is "greater than all our sins."

So , as I write, I'm reminded of my heritage, and the grace and mercy I've received. And that nudges me to keep on forgiving, being grateful, finding ways to stay at the table with those with whom I disagree, and being willing to add more chairs to welcome those back who left for awhile, for God mostly knows why.

Meanwhile, it's a choice to feast on gratitude for what was and is, to hope for what will be, and to trust Jesus to help us to love always.

And, every now and then to exclaim, as my Grands often hear me doing, "Don't we have it good!"

And we do.

For me, that's the look and work of grace; oiling rusty hinges, healing rifts, making something new possible moment by moment.