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Family - Quotes & Verses About That Special Bond

Family Foundation

March 1 marks the third anniversary of the passing of my father. There was no accident or long-drawn-out illness. There was no suffering, early warning signs, or chance to get in last good-byes.

My mom got up in the morning, called out for him like any other morning, and found him lying on the floor. The man I believed would live forever was gone in an instant and on his way to heaven.

I miss him every day.

My dad was larger than life to me. Everything about him I saw was strong:

• A strong physique
• A strong work ethic
• A strong love for family
• A strong wit
• A strong value system
• A strong desire to help others

Big shoes that I try hard in my attempt to fill but confess that I fall short. Each day his memory urges me to try again.

As I pause in remembrance of my dad's passing, my thoughts go to the death of my son from COVID-19 which happened just 7 months after my father passed. 2021 was a tough year. My dad and my son both loved family and I want to honor them by sharing some of my favorite quotes and Bible verses about those special people in our lives that we call family.

My Dad and Son Looking Out Over the Ocean

Family

I've learned that through all of life's ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies, love and loss, my family has always been there. I want to celebrate my family and yours today, no matter how many times they've managed to drive us crazy.

Family - Quotes & Verses About That Special Bond

"A happy family is but an earlier heaven."

-George Bernard Shaw

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."

-Desmond Tutu

"Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter."

-Brad Henry

"I grew up with six brothers. That's how I learned to dance -- waiting for the bathroom."

-Bob Hope

"The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other."

-Mario Puzo

"The family is one of nature's masterpieces."

-George Santayana

"The informality of family life is a blessed condition that allows us all to become our best while looking our worst."

-Marge Kennedy

"The world, we'd discovered, doesn't love you like your family loves you."

-Louis Zamperini

"Family is the most important thing in the world."

-Princess Diana

"Being a family means you are part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life."

-Lisa Weed

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."

-Jane Howard

"The greatest gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you."

-Kendall Hailey

"It didn't matter how big our house was; it mattered that there was love in it."

-Peter Buffett

"Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future."

-Gail Lumet Buckley

"One day you will do things for me that you hate. That is what it means to be family."

-Jonathan Safran Foer

"We may have our differences, but nothing's more important than family."

-Coco

"When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching -- they are your family."

-Jim Butcher

"So much of what is best in us is bound up in our love of family, that it remains the measure of our stability because it measures our sense of loyalty."

-Haniel Long

"Nothing is better than going home to family and eating good food and relaxing."

-Irina Shayk

"Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there anymore."

-Robin Hobb

"I don't think quantity time is as special as quality time with your family."

-Reba McEntire

"You are born into your family and your family is born into you. No returns. No exchanges."

-Elizabeth Berg

"The love of family and the admiration of friends are much more important than wealth and privilege."

-Charles Kuralt

"In time of test, family is best."

-Burmese Proverb

"Many men can make a fortune but very few can build a family."

-J.S. Bryan

"Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life."

-Albert Einstein

"Sticking with your family is what makes it a family."

-Mitch Albom

"Without a family, man, alone in the world, trembles with the cold."

-Andre Maurois

"My dear young cousin, if there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it."

-Rick Riordan

"Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children."

-Proverbs 17:6

"Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten."

-David Ogden Stiers

"Having a place to go is a home. Having someone to love is a family. Having both is a blessing."

-Donna Hedges

"The family -- that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to."

-Dodie Smith

"That's what people do who love you. They put their arms around you and love you when you're not so lovable."

-Deb Caletti

"What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family."

-Mother Teresa

"I am blessed to have so many great things in my life -- family, friends, and God. All will be in my thoughts daily."

-Lil' Kim

"Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family."

-Anthony Brandt

"My family is my life, and everything else comes second as far as what's important to me."

-Michael Imperioli

"Stick to the basics, hold on to your family and friends -- they will never go out of fashion."

-Niki Taylor

"Life is beautiful. It's about giving. It's about family."

-Walt Disney

"The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family."

-Lee Iacocca

"Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

-1 Timothy 5:8

"A family is a risky venture, because the greater the love, the greater the loss... That's the trade-off. But I'll take it all."

-Brad Pitt

"Everyone needs a house to live in, but a supportive family is what builds a home."

-Anthony Liccione

"There's nothing that makes you more insane than family. Or more happy, or more exasperated, or more secure."

-Jim Butcher

"The family is the first essential cell of human society."

-Pope John XXIII

"Family and friends are hidden treasures, seek them and enjoy their riches."

-Wanda Hope Carter

"Home is where you are loved the most and act the worst."

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Dad Always Filled Our Home with Laughter

"Families are like fudge -- mostly sweet, with a few nuts."

-Les Dawson

"A 2-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it."

-Jerry Seinfeld

"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."

-George Burns

"I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them."

-Phyllis Diller

"Parents are like God because you wanna know they're out there, and you want them to think well of you, but you really only call when you need something."

-Chuck Palahniuk

"A family is a bunch of people who keep confusing you with someone you were as a kid."

-Robert Brault

"Having a family is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain."

-Martin Mull

"When your mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it's a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway."

-Erma Bombeck

"The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going."

-George Carlin

"Having one kid makes you a parent. Having two kids makes you a referee."

-David Frost

Finals Thoughts About Family

I hope the quotes and Bible verses above gave you a chance to pause and reflect on the importance of family, and even to chuckle a little.

Families are not perfect, but family is family.

I am blessed to have been raised in a family that always supported me, that celebrated with me, that cried with me, and that laughed with me (and even at me on many occasions).    

Dad, I miss you every day. Thanks for always setting the example about family and loving me every day. Mom, Larry, Randy, Mark, and Trish, I couldn't ask for more. I love you deeply.

Greg, my son. Mom and I miss you. I know you're talking the ears off of everyone you encounter in heaven. Barb, Kelly, and Joshua my heart overflows with love and pride. Elissa, Ally, and Chance, I hope you know your Boppa will always be here for you. Aunt Karen, you will hold a special place in my heart forever. Sister Amy, you are in my prayers daily with thanksgiving.

Don't take family for granted. Let them know you love them every chance that you get. 

Don't assume they know.

Make sure they know!

Now go live your best life,

Dan