Joshua is here! Welcoming a child home

Last night Joshua arrived for the summer holiday.  He will be here for the whole summer and Will and I are so very excited! We had a good time starting to catch up with him last night.  He gave us a little violin concert. We watched the DVD of his performance at the "All State Music camp".  Time passed so very quickly.  Of course there are phones, Facebook, Skype and emails with which we kept in touch all through the winter and spring but there is nothing like being together in person.  

During our morning devotion, we give thanks to God for Joshua's safe journey to us and the time/summer God gave us to spend together here in Houston TX.  This may be the last summer in Houston, TX as Will and I are looking for God's call anywhere in the world. We prayed for all our family members near and far and for the world and for the church.

As it is my family tradition, I cooked a simple welcome home meal for lunch today.  My father always did that every time one of us came home from any trip or school.  My mother was the world's worse cook back then and she was very happy with the title! Dad would cook one of my favorite meals every time I went home.  Now is my turn to do the same.  Today I cooked egg curry which is an old old recipe of the Buddhist people back at home (one of Joshua's favorite curries), boiled green beans just like my mother would have, plain and fresh, and dhal/red lentil, a dish we ate most days while I was growing up.  And of course steamed rice.  We ate and had a great time chatting as we had our lunch just like the old days back in my parents home.  

Today I feel so happy with my joy in my heart that this child has come home, taller and having finished 10th grade and ready to play.  My brother-in-law and my sister have done a good job with this kid of theirs.  Especially my brother-in-law has done a great job.  

Why do I write this entry? 

I am reminded of how my family welcomes a child home. While it taste good to eat, It is not the food that warms our hearts but it is the love and tradition of a family that gets passed down the generations to celebrate one another's presence and give thanks to God for the privilege of time to be spent together.  Now my sister and her husband will be childless for the summer while we enjoy being an aunt and an uncle.  My grandmother was the one with whom my cousins and I enjoyed summer every year.  Our REAL HOME was not with our parents but was where GRANDMOTHER was.  God is good indeed that He let us continue our family tradition.  

Let the summer holiday beings......