God makes a home for the lonely

“God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.” (Psalm 68:6 NASB)

My newfound brothers and sisters

Shortly after my mother died, I received a shocking phone call from my mother’s older sister, my Aunt Evelyn. She said, “Mike, you better sit down; I have something important to tell you.” She then told me that my birth father, Brach Whitson, hadn’t really died in an automobile accident before I was born, as my mother had told me. "But," she continued, “shortly after your parents had separated, he moved from California to Anderson, Indiana, and then remarried. So, Mike, you may have some relatives there to look up.” I was blown away by the news and at once made some phone calls to Whitsons, living in Anderson, Indiana. The first person I called gave me the phone number of Brach’s daughter, Barbra. I phoned her and told her that Brach was my birth father, and I was seeking information. She seemed happy to hear from me and told me that he had recently died and there were ten children. I told her that he had also had two more children, my brother David and me. A couple of weeks later, I flew to Indiana to meet them. My new brother Greg came to pick me up. As we drove along, I stared intently at him. He noticed and said, “What?!” I said, “Greg, I’m very sorry for staring at you, but you look exactly like my brother!” (I meant that he looked like my older brother David, who had recently died!) He said, “I am your brother; get used to it!” We soon arrived at where the rest of them were waiting for us. They greeted me with hugs. Although they had been equally surprised to hear about me, they were loving and receptive. We laughed a lot and shared stories to catch each other up. It was a complete joy having all these new siblings!

Sons and daughters

“And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Cor. 6:18 ESV)

Your offspring shall be blessed

“Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” Gen. 28:14)