Family Connection
Google Images My father’s younger brother, Bill, married a woman who was big on bringing family together, on keeping the connection between far-flung cousins and aunts and uncles, as strong as possible. Since my family was one of those most “far-flung,” whenever we came to visit Aunt Edith always planned some kind of family get-together to which she invited all the relatives that were in the immediate vicinity. Unhappily, with her death, there was no one who cared enough to maintain that connection to keep her dream alive and much of the contact with the cousins who remain has been lost. In Exodus 13, as the Israelites begin their trek to the land God had once promised to their forefather, Abraham, God gives Moses some instructions designed to keep the “family” connection between Himself and His people strong and healthy. “ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal’ ” (...