We Are Family

Pearl of Wisdom # 4

I've been thinking a lot about family lately.  I don't have a big family.  My mom passed away in 2011 and my dad has dementia so he doesn't always recognize me. I do have an older sister, but we find ourselves at odds way too much of the time.  That's all the family I have.  Both sets of grandparents have passed and my aunts, uncles, and cousins are spread out across the country.

That being said, I'm now going to impart some wisdom on you here that I think is of the utmost importance.  Blood does NOT create family.  Love creates family.  I'm not related to any of the people below by blood, but they are my family nonetheless.

The love a family (both by blood and choice) provides is so important because love is the cornerstone of our self-worth.  In his 1st letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."  (1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV).

I wouldn't be the person I am right now without my "family".  I don't think I could do this - write this blog, be open about my flaws and failures - if it weren't for them.  They build me up every day.  They tell me how beautiful I am on those days that I forget.  They hold my hand when I'm scared and my heart when I'm broken.  They've been there through all my seasons; the good, the bad, and the ugly.  They find joy in me.  Even when I feel like a shell or a fraud, they see the beauty that God created and endowed within me.

I encourage you to look around.  Many of you probably have big families already, and that's fantastic.  It's such a blessing.  But I want you to go deeper.  Look at those in your life and figure out who your "family" is composed of (yes, I ended a sentence in a preposition and I don't care).  The easiest way to figure this out is this; if you got a huge award at work, who would you call first?  When a boy breaks your heart and you're not quite ready to talk about it but you still want to tell someone, who do you text?  Your "family" is composed of those individuals that have been there to share in every swing of the pendulum, not because blood or law dictates that they should, but because they love you with all their being.

Once you figure out who those individuals are, tell them.  Let them know that they are your family.  Embrace them.  Most importantly, tell them everyday how much you love them.  Even if it's uncomfortable.  Even if you've never said it before.  Say it, and keep saying it everyday.    It's what you do for family.