THE COMPLICATED FAMILY
Do you wonder how your family got so dysfunctional? Being in the midst you see all the things wrong with your family. We expect more from people who love us than those from the outside world. Our loved ones are the ones who can leave lasting scars. What if you had it all wrong? Is your family unique or is this just the way families are?
I understand the heartache of familiar fire. The words carry a sharper sting when it’s one we expect to protect us. I would love to open your eyes to the families of some of our saints in Scripture. If nothing else but to say, “you’re not alone.”
Let us start at the beginning. Genesis 4:1-18 tells the story of brotherly love, or I mean brotherly jealousy that led to death. Cain murdered his own brother jealous that God paid more attention to his sacrificial offering, holding the title of the first murder.
Abraham and Sarah were in their golden years and still without children. Sarah was beyond childbearing years. Genesis 16:1-16, 21:8-21 shares the account of Sarah’s plan to fulfill God’s promise of a child to the couple. Just a heads up, God never needs our help. Abraham agreed to Sarah’s scheme of having a child with their maid servant, Hagar. Guess what, it was messy and caused a lot of undue pain on everyone involved.
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah can be found in Genesis 19:30-38, Lot’s two virgin daughters who feared they would never have a chance to have children, got their father drunk and had relations with him.
These stories are just tipping the iceberg of crazy family stuff in the Bible. The conclusion is we all have crazy somewhere in the family. The family is not the issue. Families are made of humans prone to sin. That is the problem and there is no way around that. What is a Bible-loving girl to do? Love like Jesus. Accept the family you have and love them. Create good boundaries for yourself. Do not let others hurt you. You need to make the best choices for you. Because someone is family, it means you’re connected forever by DNA, it does not give them a right to control or damage our world.