All those years ago when we only had one child.
Yes way back then we started a "Black Family" phrase
"The 3 Sided Kiss"
Very simply it was the result of our first child Jonathan trying to kiss both Fred & I at the same time, and it worked!
The three of us would laugh and squeeze in together for that family kiss.
Two years later Jonathan could no longer call for a 3 sided kiss because our family had grown to 4 with his brother Daniel.
But then he simply just called for a "4 sided kiss" and Daniel grew up being squeezed in as we tried (somewhat successfully) to make this new family kiss happen.
It took another 3 years for it to turn into a "5 sided kiss" when our daughter Linda was born.
Now a 5 sided kiss was not easy to try for and really not a success but for many years the 5 of us would just throw our heads together and end up kissing whoever was nearest.
Somehow just the idea of all of us trying to be united in this simple kiss would put a smile on our faces and make us giggle and haven't we been told on numerous occasions that it is good and healthy to laugh together.
It is the little things like this that make each family unique, the silly things that we laugh at, the unusual things we share, the days, weeks, months and years that have bonded us together to make up this special relationship.
No two families will have the same relationship.
Have you ever thought about our relationship with Jesus?
We all have a unique relationship with Him and that is wonderful to know.
We have all had a different length of time shared with Him,
different words spoken to Him,
different tears shed with Him,
different joys shared with Him,
different gifts received from Him,
different requests made of Him,
different answers accepted from Him.
We may share the same Saviour, yes He is the Saviour sent into the world for everyone, He is the Saviour who loves each one of us, but we do not share the exact same relationship because we have all be created uniquely, we have all had different experiences in life and we all have different thoughts and feelings deep within us.
It is great to know that He is the only one who knows all those secrets (good and bad) that He loves us and cares about all that matters to us.
It is great to know that He wants to have this unique relationship with us now and forever.
Now that Daniel and Suzie are married and we have a baby grandson we should be calling for a 7 sided kiss but I think we all know that is just impossible.
When Matthew is a bit older I'm sure we will tell him about the "family kiss" and I think Grandma, Grandpa and Matthew could start the tradition all over again with the new "Black Family 3 sided kiss".
