Guardians

A few months ago my brother, B, calls and asks us to be my niece's legal guardian should anything happen to he and my SIL. Of course we are happy to do it because I absolutely adore my niece. We have this incredible bond! J teases me about the fact that we have so many pictures of her up in our house. He says it looks like she's our child. And our scrapbooks...she's all over them. But I just love her so much. She's the bright spot in all the darkness that we've been through lately.

Today my cousin, E, called to tell me she's pregnant again. I'm really excited for her. She called not just to share her good news, but to also ask if we would be the guardians for their two kids. E has a step-brother, but he's in his late thirties and still lives at home with his mom. And my E's husband has a sister, but he doesn't approve of how she raises her children so he doesn't want his children to be raised by her should anything happen to he and my cousin. E is my closest cousin, and actually she has offered to be our surrogate, but dispite her offering, we were honored that they would want us to care for their children.

It's odd...my brother and my cousin both would trust J and I with their most "prized possessions". I wonder why God doesn't trust us to raise our own. Is this really our lot in life...to be everyone's legal guardians? Lord knows I don't want anything to happen to my family members, but I can't help but wonder if this is how we're going to have a family. God, please don't let it be...