Whanau

We had a couple of families around for a sunday roast dinner after Church. As individuals and families we've spent much time playing, worshiping, running, biking, eating, drinking, partying, worrying, celebrating, laughing, crying, angsting, praying, hoping, sharing, pondering, wondering, searching, exploring, walking, and resting together over the last decade. We find ourselves across the generations not just friends but family.

We don't need a reason to meet up, and when we do life is always richer for it. Today I've blipped the 2 Johns, we've stood shoulder to shoulder through the best of times often and occasionally the worst of times.
Before we washed up in Ilkley our family had been in New Zealand for the year, we encountered a word Whanau, a Maori word that has found contemporary expression meaning something like "extended family". With these boys and their familes we have discovered the gift of Whanau.