Cherrished friend of ours brought us some fresh peaches the other day. Anxious to use them, Suzanne looked up a new recipie to bring for Sunday dinner with her dad. She worked all afternoon Saturday, pealing peaches, rolling dough, and baking the pie.

After we finished our dinner today, Suzanne brought out that peach pie for her dad to enjoy. As he finished his piece he made the comment “you need more practice”.

Now you need to know the pre-text of that comment. When we got married, Suzanne shared a story from back in her 4-H days. She was enrolled in baking and kept trying to perfect a recipe. The only comment she would get from her dad was “you need more practice”.

Suzanne shared that back then, it was disappointing to hear that her dad didn’t seem to like the efforts she was putting into her 4-H baking project. But as it turns out, her dad did like what she was doing and it was his way of getting her to make it again.

We all have family sayings, mannerisms, expectations, and traditions. Most are probably seen by outsiders as quirky, but to us, they are what makes us a family. Those little bonds, inside jokes, pokes & prods that you can’t do with anyone else but family.

Appreciation for those ‘isms’ seems to magnify when tragedy strikes. It is then when we realize how important a particular family member is and how much those little peculiar things they did are to us.

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9