Parenthood, part 2

After a shaky start, Parenthood is on much firmer footing. One of the things Parenthood does best is to show the power of relationships, in particular, family relationships. The Braverman family is there for one another. In this year's story line Kristina has found out she has breast cancer. For several weeks she and her husband, Adam, have kept the news to themselves. In the last episode, they told their daughter who is away at college and their son who is a middle school child with aspergers. While the family is at a restaurant celebrating the first hit in a little league baseball game by the newest Braverman, an adopted son of Adam's sister and brother in law, Haddie, Kristina and Adam's college daughter walks in. Everyone is surprised, of course, and suspects something is up. With tears flowing, Kristina, shares the news of her diagnosis. The  Braverman family is pretty normal and has their ups and downs but their family's strength is the support they give whenever any one of them is in trouble. St. Paul in his letters often talks about how the body of Christ is to be there for each other. Pray for one another, serve one another, submit to one another, love one another, forgive one another, etc., are the sorts of things Paul writes to his churches.  I think Paul had in mind a bigger version of the Braverman family when he wrote about the church. We have good times and bad times; we have successes and failures; we get some things right and some things wrong. But, we are there for each other. The strength of the body of Christ is our support for each other when any one of us is in trouble.