I am sitting in Michigan this morning listening to the wind howl outside.  Eighteen years ago I started making regular trips to the great white north.  Not to see the sights or exchange ideas with people who speak a different dialect than me.  No.  It was a much bigger reason.  You see, the love of my life grew up here.  There is an old western song that says, “I met a girl from Saginaw, Michigan.”  That’s me.

Now all of these years (and three children) later, here I am.  A West Virginia boy sitting in the midst of Yankee land…and loving every minute of it.  As I have grown older I have come to appreciate more and more the influences that shaped my wife as a child.

I have always been grateful for the family God placed me in.  Like the psalmist David I have often quoted, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage” (Ps. 16:6).  Now we are passing on that heritage to our children.  And it is not just the heritage I was handed, it was the one my wife received.

Yes, I enjoy a good mother-in-law joke like the next guy.  (Don’t tell her!)  But more than ever I appreciate the godly influence and faithful example of my father-in-law and mother-in-law.  They have given me the most precious gift I have ever been given outside of my salvation.  They helped make Tammy the wonderful wife and gracious mother that she is today.

We come to Michigan every year for Thanksgiving.  This year I am most thankful for the family I became part of on June 13, 1997.  I am grateful to God that my wife grew up in a truly Christian home and that my children’s grandparents are all true followers of the Lord.