by Tonya Woodridge-Jarvis
In high school, I remember my friend Katie’s family being the modern day “Leave it to Beaver” type. Her mother and father had been married for 20 years and had three daughters. They were always having family time and involved in each other’s lives. The older girls would sit and braid each other’s hair and share stories, and I truly desired to have that.
My family on the other hand was a bit dysfunctional. My mother and father were divorced by the time I was 13 after having two daughters and a son. Mom worked all the time, and my father lived in another city out of my reach. My sister and I were always on opposite ends of the universe, and my brother was off somewhere playing with dirt and bugs. I didn’t quite have the same as what Katie had.
The word Family in the Webster’s Dictionary is defined as: A basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not. It was later in life that I learned the following phrase, “we don’t choose our families we are born into them.”
This means that in life, you have to play the instrument that you’ve been issued. Your family may not look or act like a “TV” family, but you still have great one. Families will have issues until the return of Jesus, but it is how you overcome those issues that will keep your family thriving.
I know that this is sometimes a hard concept to abide by, so here are a few tips to help you do so:
- Do not hold grudges! Sometimes you just have to agree to disagree. Remember that they are still your family, and you love them no matter what.
- Love them as Christ loved the church.
- Don’t discuss things while you’re angry. Take a moment to Listen, Process and then React. You will find that if you stick to this method some things won’t warrant an emotion or response.
