The Gift of Family

Family is amazing. That goes without saying, right?

Well, maybe, maybe not.

Allow me to explain myself before you get mad!

Family, in my mind, involves two parents and maybe some kids. Obviously, this isn’t how some families are built. Maybe there’s only one parent, or it’s a split household. That isn’t the way God made Family to work, and it makes me very sad to see it happening a lot.

I can’t tell you how to run your own family, or how to fix it. But I want to encourage you—there’s more than one family you can be in.

Specifically, God’s family. This is the most wonderful family you could ever be in, and God is the head of it—the Father.

When you’re feeling downhearted about something going on in your earthly family, just remember—God is there to give you advice and wisdom, and to lead you in the right direction. He is there to love and comfort.

Now, obviously you can’t ignore the family God put you in on earth. That is meant to be a blessing as well, no matter how broken it might be. Or maybe it’s not broken; maybe you just don’t get along with your siblings or parents very well.

That makes sense! But there’s a way to fix it.

Keep this in mind: You can’t fix anyone but yourself. If someone is annoying you, don’t be annoyed. That’s my mom’s advice, and for the longest time it made no sense to me. But truly, if you don’t let yourself be upset about something, they’ll usually stop (speaking from experience here ;P). This is in sibling relationships, of course.

Parents are a whole different deal.

I love my parents. I respect them.

But sometimes it’s really hard to obey them. I struggle with this a TON, and I’m sure you have as well! It’s just humans being humans. But I’ve found that turning to God in these situations helps a lot. Also, not arguing back and resolve a situation quickly.

Of course, you might not agree with what your parents tell you. You might want to turn the discussion into an argument. But that’s not the best way.

You’re going to disagree at some point, and when that happens, let it simmer. Don’t bring it to a full boil if you can possibly help it, because that only ever makes it worse.

Don’t incite the incident if you can avoid that, and don’t prod anyone into getting more upset. Proverbs 15:1 says:

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

If you keep calm and trust God to bring you through, that usually fixes the problem a lot quicker than anything else.

And somehow my post just turned into a manual on arguments, not the gift of family . . .

How did that happen?

Moving on.

To bring that back to my original point, allow me to say this: Family is wonderful. They joke with you, they play with you. You grow memories together. But you may also argue, and that’s okay. This happens in our biological family as well as in God’s family, but remember—God’s in charge of both, ultimately. And if you trust Him, His will will become clear.

Don’t just give up on your family because you disagree. Show them God’s love, and never forget that He put you in that family for a reason.

Okay, I’m done ranting. ;P

God bless!

~Janet