Our Family

This week we welcomed Emma Holcomb Barber into our family. She is a wonderful addition and has already added much joy to each of our lives. We will all be praying for God to help her grow and develop over these next few months at St. Vincent’s and we are very grateful for the wonderful caregivers that we have been blessed with to help her in her journey.

While we don’t know exactly where this journey is going to take Emma, the truth is that none of us really know where our own journey is going to take us. God has given each of us the gift of today and He wants us to take full advantage of the present as we trust him for our tomorrows. Emma inspires me to be fully present.

Jesus gave us two simple commands - love God and love His people. During this past week, it has been such a blessing to see the love for each other that we have in our family. You have modeled what the Apostle Paul speaks of in the verses below. While this passage is commonly thought of in a marriage, it is truly intended for all of our relationships.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

It is the joys and sorrows of this life that make love come alive. I have had the opportunity to witness and be a part of this love many times over the past year - a wonderful trip to the UK with Julie, Emily’s return from JH Ranch, Lauren’s “Sweet Sixteen” birthday, Paul, Catherine & Annie’s move to Birmingham, Will & Kate’s wedding and now, the birth of Emma.

Nothing gives me greater joy in this life than to see this love in action in our family. Thank you all for richly blessing me. I am so proud of each of you and so thankful that God brought you into my life.

This life has its uncertainties.. We cannot be sure of our tomorrows but we can know that God has ordained them for us and He is there with us as we step into each new day.

Love never fails,

Big E