Family

I always think about family, whether it be a single person between our families or family as a whole. I even have friends I would consider family. I don't think I could ever distance myself from any of these people I call family. I love them all too much. I come from a very good family. We are not quick to judge, shun, disown, belittle or dismiss. We are there for love, support and strength. My immediate family is the base of what I grew up knowing. It is my core and it is part of what made me the person I am today. I also grew up very close to my extended family. If there is a family party you can bet all my family would be there. My Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents, and even friends of all these family members are accepted with open arms. My Grandma Carol is my Moms, Mom and between her six children there are a total of 21 and we are the cousins. The 21 of us range from 30 years old to 2 years old four of those cousins are currently married and seven of the cousins have been married. Sadly three of the marriages just didn't work out. So that makes a total of 25 cousins because once you marry into this family you are without a doubt a member of the family. There are also six children amongst the cousins and we count them in the number even though they are the next generation. 31 cousins and we are all so tremendously close to one another. We would seriously do anything for one another and it doesn't stop at that ANY member of the family would do anything for anyone of us.

Recently I have thought more and more about how grateful I am to be put in such an accepting family. I am not a person who has ever had trouble being accepted in any aspect of my life but I see people everyday being shunned by the very people that call themselves family. To me the word family has always meant a great deal, it has meant dedication, love and acceptance. I have seen pride rip apart families and keep them apart for years. It is not the act that offended a person that keeps two people apart, it is the pride that each of them hold too dearly to move forward and love each other. Mothers, Fathers, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents these are all people we think of as mentors or older people to look up too. They are the adults and they should be the first to put aside differences and do whatever it takes to make sure their families are united forever. If these people are hurt or offended by their child, niece/nephew or grandchild they should be the first to put their best foot forward and move on. If the situation happens where the child is offended I still believe the older person should take charge and try to fix the situation. People are pathetic though and they obviously don't believe family is as important as I do. One of the main foundations of the church is family. We base our whole lives around family and having an eternal family is our ultimate goal on this earth. If the people who think that they can ignore, push and shove their children away think that they are good people, they are wrong. They need to toughen up, move on and bring their family close. I am lucky enough to be close to my family and to Daniel. I was raised in well and that I am grateful for. I pray for every broken family in this world to be fixed, mended and restored. Hopefully every day there are answers to my prayer and I truly believe that there are. I also hope that the families I pray to be mended the most are mended sooner than later because you never know in life what is next to happen.