The Value of Family

by Candace Salima | More from this Blogger

28 Mar 2006 06:43 PM

In a world fraught with so much uncertainty and danger I find peace in the companionship, support and love of my family. Interestingly there are two types of family. There is the family you are born into and then the family that is formed through close ties and friendships. Both play necessary roles in our lives. For instance, I have a friend who is the single daughter in a home of eight boys. Her girlfriends are her sisters of the heart and play that very role. For me, I grew up with six sisters and five brothers - I'm inundated with family and I love each and every one of them.

Family is there to support us in times of trouble and heartache. When life throws unimaginable tragedy at you, it is family that gathers around and buoys you up until you can walk on your own again. This lesson has hit so close to home as of late. Dear friends who arrived at the hospital late every night to accompany me home, assuring me that my husband would be well cared for in my absence. Family who came and pampered me in the lobby of the 5th floor of the hospital, giving me a pedicure and manicure. Family who answered every phone call early in the morning and late, late at night - speaking to me to keep me awake as I drove to the hospital. Friends who came every day, bringing food, books, games . . . everything that would keep my husband and I occupied through the countless tests, procedures and surgeries. The dozens who visited regularly providing strength, love and support that we so desperately needed. The hundreds upon thousands across the nation who fasted and prayed for my husband on a regular basis. There is no value that can be placed on family and friends.

Never before has this thing so highly valued become so clear in our hearts and minds. I looked at the tragedy occurring around me in the hospital and wondered, how do people survive this without the peace, hope and love of the gospel? How do they survive it alone? How do they do it? I had all these wonderful things and still struggled with fear, despair and unrelenting worry. However, underneath it all I knew I was loved and never alone. This is the value of family, both biological and that formed by friendship -it is of an eternal value that should never be taken for granted.

Learn more about Candace Salima

Candace E. Salima was born right smack dab in the middle of twelve children.

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baldeguy (55) 04 Apr 2006 01:57 AM

It is at times of extreme challenge that we know we can lean on. I worried so much for those hours you were spending in the hospital and wanted so very much to stay and let you rest and hold both of your hands and give comfort as you both have given me, but the 1/2 hour I spent with you two were all that I had to give. Prayers however were always carried in my heart.

I have learned from a very young age the importance of good friends and I have relied on these friends when my own flesh and blood seemed so far away. I have learned that good friends may not have my same skin color or beliefs, but that we can be just as close as if we had been born into one family. They are there to lift me and I to lift them.

Candace has suffered through all of these things with me and has always, ALWAYS, been a sister to me. She is "the wind beneath my wings" and Alvin "my guiding star". It is with great love that I write this entry, for it is they that are at the center of my thoughts this evening.

Candace Salima (1604) 04 Apr 2006 02:29 PM

Your words have touched me deeply. Those weeks in the hospital, were without doubt, so incredibly stressful. But each person who spent even five minutes with us were so greatly appreciated. Thoughts and prayers were more powerful than extended visits, simply because those things engaged the heavens and the source from which miracles pour. Not that I minded the extended visits, I didn't, I loved them. But I understood that everyone had lives of their own they had to live. So every moment given us was treasured and understood.

azturboman (21) 05 Apr 2006 04:03 AM

Family is at the core of everything we are, is affected by everything we do, and will play a major part in our eternal progression. How fitting it is that, as we make our way through this world that, time and again, we are drawn into our "family circle" by the struggles that we face, or by the struggles that others must endure. Heavenly Father undoubtedly "programmed" us to need each other to make it through our challenges. True happiness is really only achieved through serving others, so this really works out well for us all. Thanks you so much for your insights and for the glimpse into your life.

Candace Salima (1604) 05 Apr 2006 11:57 AM

Hear, hear.