The other day my mother went to the hospital with an infection but seems to be responding well to the antibiotic treatment she is receiving. I expect she will be back at home before I arrive in Florida for my retreat/vacation. Thank you for your prayers for her and my father who misses her terribly when she is away.

It got me thinking of all the ways I have been blessed by God through my family. Because of my parents, I had a home, health, education, but most importantly faith. A big part of that faith was the experience of the love of God. And that love of God was lived out by my parents loving us and we, their children, loving them.

One of the daily practices and reminders of this love was that my father would bless us children individually almost every night and tell us he loved us. We in turn would say to our parents and each other each night as a final greeting/blessing “God bless you, God love you.” We, brothers and sisters, still on many occasions when parting from one another say, “God bless you, God love you.” The practice of it still warms my heart.

So as I leave you for a time, I say to each of you, “God bless you, God love you.”