Dear Reader,
A wise man once said, "Strangers are just friends that you haven't met yet." Don't ask me who that wise man was, because I have no idea. It could have been a woman. The important thing is the wisdom of these words.
There is an interesting translation between Spanish and English. The verb 'conocer' is usually translated as 'to meet' or 'to know.' However, it is more accurate translate 'conocer' as 'to be familiar with' due to confusion with another verb ('saber') in some cases. I think my relationship with my family is very closely depicted by the differences in this translation.
You see, I "met" my family when I was born, right? However, due to age differences and my constant attention to friends and extracurricular activities during jr. high and high school, I 'was not familiar' with my family. I 'knew' my family, yes. That is the difference.
Fast forward to a time when I was on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chile. One day while taking a tally, it became clear that my siblings and I did not talk very often. There then came a time that we began to talk more and we all somehow ended up living closer together.
Right now, we all live within an hour of each other (Depending on traffic...and who is driving). We do not talk daily, nor do any of us have time to do so, but we make time for each other to go out for meals or babysit children. After the past couple of years, I can honestly say I 'am familiar with my family.' They were strangers to me before, but we finally 'met' each other. That my friends, is pretty amazing.
Another wise man once said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Yes, I know who that man was. It was Jesus Christ (John 15:13), speaking to his disciples. Because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, my family has been sealed in the temple for time and eternity. That means that not only would we die for each other, we are literally giving each other our lives, for eternity.
A wise man once said, "Strangers are just friends that you haven't met yet." Don't ask me who that wise man was, because I have no idea. It could have been a woman. The important thing is the wisdom of these words.
There is an interesting translation between Spanish and English. The verb 'conocer' is usually translated as 'to meet' or 'to know.' However, it is more accurate translate 'conocer' as 'to be familiar with' due to confusion with another verb ('saber') in some cases. I think my relationship with my family is very closely depicted by the differences in this translation.
You see, I "met" my family when I was born, right? However, due to age differences and my constant attention to friends and extracurricular activities during jr. high and high school, I 'was not familiar' with my family. I 'knew' my family, yes. That is the difference.
Fast forward to a time when I was on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chile. One day while taking a tally, it became clear that my siblings and I did not talk very often. There then came a time that we began to talk more and we all somehow ended up living closer together.
Right now, we all live within an hour of each other (Depending on traffic...and who is driving). We do not talk daily, nor do any of us have time to do so, but we make time for each other to go out for meals or babysit children. After the past couple of years, I can honestly say I 'am familiar with my family.' They were strangers to me before, but we finally 'met' each other. That my friends, is pretty amazing.
Another wise man once said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Yes, I know who that man was. It was Jesus Christ (John 15:13), speaking to his disciples. Because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, my family has been sealed in the temple for time and eternity. That means that not only would we die for each other, we are literally giving each other our lives, for eternity.
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