Family Matters

There was popular show in the 90’s called Family Matters and it depicted a typical American family and how they interacted on a daily basis. This family encountered tons of fun things with their fun-loving neighbor and also with one another. On occasion we also experience some of the drama that the family had to deal with because of poor decision-making or secrets that were being kept between the family members. We can all relate to dealing with some sort of drama in our families but the problem lies in the fact that we let that drama define us.

Family plays a large role in all of our lives and, truthfully, it should. My family is extremely close and we take pride in that fact. There are lots of positives which are too many to name but we really love each other. But there are also some negatives. For example, my lifestyle requires that I spend more time out of the country than I spend in it and it is heart-wrenching each time I have to leave my family. Also, because we are all so close we tend to take the opinions of one another a little too seriously when we make life changing decisions. To some, these may seem like familial matters that aren’t that bad compared to what you are dealing with.

I have heard so many things from people that say they address and handle certain issues because of how they were raised. Women have an issue with submitting to their husbands because their mother had no husband to submit to. Daughters who have said that do not know how to interact with a man because their father was not present. Sons who abandon their children because they think that real mean only procreate and do not raise their offspring. You may not even speak to your mother, father, or siblings because in your family you disown one another at the first sign of a disagreement. Or maybe, you have been raised in a family that does not believe that God has your best interest at heart and have no idea how to trust Our Heavenly Father.

Our society is plagued by children emulating the negative behavior they see in their environments. They believe the lie that they have to become what they were raised around. Children are left feeling like they have no choice except to be in the same predicament their parents were in. But there is something on the inside of each of us that gives us the desire to want to do better for ourselves. We do not want to be a product of our environment. This is evident because of the multimillionaire who came from a home that relied on government assistance their entire life. Or the father who raises not only his children but becomes a mentor to others even though he was abandoned as a child.

You do not have to become what you see. Make the decision to remove yourself from a negative environment, even if it is your own family. Sometimes those that are closest to you are the very ones who are burying you into a hole that you cannot crawl out of. Your dedication is not a mistake and it is not wrong even if you are unable to identify where it came from. Many times, those in our family need to see something different to understand that something better is possible. Be the change that they need to see!

Your family matters and you should prove it to them by being better than they ever imagined.

With All My Love,
Mrs. Truscott