My Soapbox!

My opinions and feeling are very strong, and I suspect my dear husband is tired of getting an earful from me when I already know he 100% agrees with me. Anyway, I enjoy sparking controversy (to a degree) over things the I feel passionately about. So I have decided to impose my thoughts upon my blog readers. This weeks rant is about family.

You get to make a lot of choices in this life. You get to choose your standards, you get to choose how you feel about things, how you react, where you live, friends, pets, hair color, etc. Their are innumerable things that you are in control of! One thing that you never get to choose is your family. In the same respect, you do choose your spouse, but not your family-in-law. I guess it's that age old give and take dilemma. Then comes another dilemma... what if there is someone in your family tree, whether one who shares your DNA or not, that you continuously butt heads with? What then? Do you cut them out of your life like a bad habit? Do you try to keep a superficial relationship with them? Or do you suck it up and realize that if you are potentially spending ETERNITY with these people you ought to learn to love them now? I'll be the first to admit that the love of my life and I got off to a rocky start. My mother did not like him, let alone love him. It has been a constant battle since I was 15 years old. This is one of those things that may warrant some hurt feelings or ostracizing of a loved one. But guess what? It has had no effect on my family at all. My mother and my love are kind to one another! I know there are hurt feeling on both sides, but they don't let it affect how often we get together as a family, they don't let it affect Nana's relationship with her grand children, and neither one of them make me play monkey in the middle. I appreciate it so much and I am so glad that they both realize it's not about any one person anymore. It's about FAMILY.

On the flip side, I have been butting heads with my #2 BFF, Daniel's younger brother. He said some hurtful things to me, and I'm sure my retaliations were more malicious than intended. He and my husband don't really get along, and Daniel gets very protective of me when someone brings me to tears. But we're family, and these thing will never be anything that keeps us away from each other. Even though Daniel and Bubba have never had a great relationship, they realize that this principle of family is something bigger than them.

Family is a rare and precious gift that should be more important than anything else in one's life. You only get one shot. They can never be replaced. If someone feels offended by their family, that is their choice, not someone elses fault. Heavenly Father gave you these people for a reason. You can either choose to learn from them and learn to love them, or deny yourself of that precious bond that only family can create.

Ephesians 4: 32
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

I believe this scripture applies to family above all else. I hope and pray with all my heart that I will always choose to love, nurture and forgive my entire family, no matter the circumstances.