The Joy of Family - Part Two
No one will accept you, as you are, as well as your family will. No one will take you back, following a conflict or a breach of decent behavior, as well as your family will. No one will stick with you through thick mud and thin waters as well as your family will, all provided you have a nurturing family. It doesn't happen by accident, and the process is not fool-proof. It requires "nurturing." That means you guard your mouth and actions carefully with those you love. It means you forgive, even if you've been wronged in the process somewhere. It means you support their efforts, even if you don't always agree with their methods or decisions, not interfering unless you see clearly that there will be lifelong negative consequences to their actions.
Easy? Goodness, no. Worth it? You bet!
The picture I've painted above is pie-in-the-sky thinking. Let's get real. Just as life has ups and downs, so do our family relationships. More than once I thought this about my husband: "If I didn't love you so much, I'd really like to divorce you about now over... ." For some reason, ripples in the peaceful waters, and especially strong tumultuous waves, are especially hard to handle at this particular time of the year. If this year happens to be a difficult one for you or your family, please know that it is okay to pull back a bit on activities and focus on the real reason for the season. That's what we did one year some time back, when our family was estranged from one member of the family the same year that another member had a devastating financial emergency and a third was too ill to attend the festivities over the holidays. (Who was it that said, "Trouble always comes in threes?") Jesus came to bring peace on earth. That infers that it is not always present for us. But we know that already, don't we? It can be, in our hearts, at all times, if we focus on his message.
Peace, love, and joy--in your family hopefully, but with Jesus always,
Margaret
Easy? Goodness, no. Worth it? You bet!
The picture I've painted above is pie-in-the-sky thinking. Let's get real. Just as life has ups and downs, so do our family relationships. More than once I thought this about my husband: "If I didn't love you so much, I'd really like to divorce you about now over... ." For some reason, ripples in the peaceful waters, and especially strong tumultuous waves, are especially hard to handle at this particular time of the year. If this year happens to be a difficult one for you or your family, please know that it is okay to pull back a bit on activities and focus on the real reason for the season. That's what we did one year some time back, when our family was estranged from one member of the family the same year that another member had a devastating financial emergency and a third was too ill to attend the festivities over the holidays. (Who was it that said, "Trouble always comes in threes?") Jesus came to bring peace on earth. That infers that it is not always present for us. But we know that already, don't we? It can be, in our hearts, at all times, if we focus on his message.
Peace, love, and joy--in your family hopefully, but with Jesus always,
Margaret
