Esau too his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. Genesis 36:6
Esau moved away. Despite his favored relationship with Isaac, he moved away. He settled in Seir, the land of his father-in-law Anah, whose daughter Oholibamah was Esau's wife.
A father-in-law can be such a blessing. Although Esau had a good relationship with his father Isaac, he lost the blessing. Nothing that belonged to his father would be his. Jacob had stolen it. But Esau started a new life, and my guess is that his father-in-law Anah was a big part of it.
Lord, my father-in-law helped make me the man I am today. It is his strength and care that I attribute to my areas of strength now. My childhood was broken. My father was uninvolved. My greatest weaknesses and struggles took root under my father's care.
But I am overcoming the failures. Everyday, my understanding of godliness increases; this took root under my father-in-law's hand. Interestingly, my pursuit was changed by something I wished had never happened. The death of my father-in-law gave me no choice but to become a man - to step out - to take control when no one else would lead. Even in death, he teaches me.
Lord, how I miss him so! He poured so much into me - his second son. I was seventeen when he adopted me. No, I wasn't married until I was twenty-one, but my father-in-law became my dad long before that.
Jesus, help me to some day be a great influence on my son-in-law. Help me to love my second son like I was loved.