Some people have large families full of cousins and grandparents, aunts and uncles. Their family vacations are spent strengthening the family bonds that began in childhood and now span a multiple generations. For our family, that is not an option. For a multitude of reasons, we don’t spend large quantities of time with our cousins, aunts and uncles etc. and although we love them very much, we don’t vacations with our extended family. That is why it is so important that we have found a place to make all those family connections, outside of our natural family. It’s said that “Friends are the Family we Choose”, I have found that to be extremely true, especially in one place particular.

More than just the cool sweet lake water and the warm soft sand of the volleyball court, more than the plague of frogs trying to escape from grubby little hands. It’s where we spend time with our God-Given family, the ones we have CHOSEN to spend time with. The Mom’s who share our struggles at bedtime, who offer the smile of encouragement when they see us negotiating one more bite. Friends that don’t judge us when we say “I’m going to tell you more time” and then decide to let it go in an effort to enjoy the afternoon at the beach. They don’t make us feel like we have failed as parents because we give the kids chocolate cheerios or lucky charms for breakfast and lose track of how many granola bars they eat between meals.

It’s where Dad’s try to catch snakes and frogs with the kids, and teach them to kayak and Mom’s build sandcastles and float on noodles. Where our men pray together and strengthen the bonds of manhood over ping pong until the garage smells like a locker room. Where every grown man feels like a kid again as he goes careening off the slippery dock or dumps ice cold water down a friends’ back.

Board games into the wee hours, kettlebells on the lawn, dodging skunks in search of a midnight snack, 12 people washing the dinner dishes at once, tipping the canoe, biblical scavenger hunts, Elijah bringing the fire, women sharing their struggles and interceding before the Lord, smores and skits at campfire, pranks, daytrips to the grotto and ice cream sundaes, there is just no place like it.

Coffeepot earwigs, droopy baby bathing suits, pouring rain, laundry stains, burnt caramel popcorn, sand in every crevice, mosquitos galore, 12 hours of pouring rain, thunder and lightning, and a severe potato shortage on Sundays can’t come close to dampening the joy we find there. Because there are too many blessings, too many people who love the Lord, too many families who have chosen to make this their extended family vacation if only for one week.

It’s where we make breakfast while tripping over eachother, where we break out the snacks and play silly games, where we build newspaper boats and sing a Halelujah chorus and keep our eyes on one anothers precious little ones. Where everyone pitches in for chores and we’re not afraid to look silly playing a game with the kids even though our little ones are not so little anymore.

If you still haven’t guessed where this magical place is, I’ll tell you…it’s Miller Lake and it’s where we choose to go every year to be with all our crazy friends who feel more like our family. And I’d rather be there than anywhere else.