Giving Thanks for Family!

Family Giving of Thanks

This week I had the opportunity of spending time with family I had not seen in years! Some relatives that are now adults, I had not seen since they were children. I felt blessed to have this opportunity to share a meal with them. We all traveled near and far to be together.

Connection is such a powerful thing! It’s no accident that God placed us in families!

At the heart of His divine plan for us, is the idea of relationship. He created us to be in relationship with Him and demonstrated this in establishing us in families of origin as well as extended family!

If we truly understood this, how powerful we could be as a family unit! I have read countless stories of how strong families have ruled nations, built empires, and founded companies and businesses we benefit from today!

In the Bible, God speaks in various passages about the family structure. He lays out the responsibilities of each family member. Sadly, the enemy wants to destroy the family unit.

For those of us who are of African descent, the family unit has been tested for hundreds of years! Our ancestral family units were torn apart in Africa and taken across the waters to a new and unfamiliar land. Once arriving in this land, our family units continued to be decimated.

To this day, we live with some of the vestiges of the destruction of our family units!

The good news is that God is able to restore those family units. I refuse to believe that those broken links in my own extended family cannot be restored! I refuse to accept that any part of my family is beyond repair. My responsibility is to continue to pray for my family and love them.

Many of us have experienced hurt, rejection, and disappointment at the hands of our family members. Instead of dealing with these feelings, some of us harbor resentment and show our hurt in various ways, such as our absence from family events and gatherings. Other ways we show our feelings are by passive aggressive behaviors or saying hurtful things to our loved ones!

The older I get, the more I understand that while harboring unforgiveness may hurt the other person, it hurts the person exhibiting this behavior more! It wears on our hearts, minds and other vital organs in our bodies. I strongly believe that it leads to some illnesses as well as the absence of clear thinking!

If you are experiencing discord in your family unit, make attempts to mend these broken links. Pray for your family member and continue to love them. If it is you that has been hurt, deal with what you are feeling and find a way to communicate your hurt with the family member. I have found that writing letters can be effective if you feel that your spoken words fall on deaf ears!

At any rate, put God in the midst of your family conflicts and allow Him to lead and guide the resolution and restoration of your relationship!

~Selah