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Friday, March 25, 2011

What does family mean to you?

So over the past week I've been thinking alot about my family and the good times we've shared over the years.  I remember as a young girl how all of my family (aunt, uncles, cousins) would gather at my Grandmom's house and camp for a weekend.  Or the weekends spent at Mom's when we would head to an Aunt's house for a family get together.  I always loved getting to see them all, and was grateful to have cousins my age.  We had wild imaginations, played endless games, or simply played keep away from the younger cousins (who we thought were pains). :)  Of course as we grow up, go off to school, move away from home, things change and we lose touch.  But never do we lose that special bond, or all the memories we share.  As with all families there are of course the bumps encountered along the way, differences of opinions, grudges, hurtful words/actions, and the worst is the alienation of a family member.  The following are some of my opinions on how family should treat each other:

Realize that nobody is perfect, and we all make mistakes.  Most importantly though is what we learn from those mistakes and how we use that information to make ourselves better.  So realizing that people do change, don't continue to judge someone on past actions.  Sometimes it's just best to leave the past behind us and move forward. 

Don't hide during the tough times, there is always someone whose been in your situation.  Whether it be issues with children, marital problems, job issues, no matter what there is always someone there willing to give you advice and give a helping hand.  And when you know a family member is having a rough time don't kick them when they're down, or do something to make it worse.

In my life I have observed members of my family let differences keep them apart, you never know when that person may be gone.  Then you may live the rest of your life thinking "I wish I had spent more time, called more often, or said I love you".  Is that a guilt you want to live with for the rest of your life?

Be loyal to your family, love them in good times or bad.  Most importantly FORGIVE, god forgives and so should you.

Colossians 3:13 - Bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

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