Thoughts on Family

I recently ran across an article that made reference to how the famous ancient Greek philosopher Plato, the student of Socrates, once upon a time suggested the abolition of families. As soon I read that bit, I was stopped in my tracks, and suddenly an entire cattle trailer of thoughts stampeded into my mind, including thoughts garnished with gratitude, regarding how grateful I really am for my family.

I grew up in a lovely, humble home with a mom, a dad, two sisters, two brothers, two dogs, three tortoises, an English-speaking green parakeet, and the occasional betta, hamster, and albino rat. There was always a lot of love going on in that house. A lot of together-time. We’d read together, pray together, play together, do chores together while blasting the Eagles, do roadtrips across the countryside while blasting the Clint Black and the Chris LeDoux, dance to “Funky New Year” over and over and over and over and over AND OVER again on New Year’s Eve… All of us, together.

So much love there. And it’s a tradition that we hang on to still. We’ve all done some growing up and moving on since yesteryear, but we still treasure our time together. Our lives are all busier, but we still get a kick out of getting together whenever we can.

I know of a lot of families whose joys are similar to the joy of my family. In my time here on earth, I have come to believe that the joy of family is my favorite type of joy that I have ever known. The joys I get elsewhere don’t ever quite match the joy I feel when I’m with my family.

I know that not all families are identical to mine. Families truly do come in different shapes and sizes. Within these sizes and shapes, real family joy can occur. For there to be joy, I think the things that matter include the practices of selfless love, kindly service, wholesome bonding time, quality communication, and learning and growing together in patience and forgiveness.

Might I suggest that these practices, which I have just stated in the sentence previous to this one, resemble the practices we naturally try to exercise whenever we want to build positively good friendships with people who aren’t necessarily our blood-relatives? Which leads me to this next pair of thoughts:

1) Under some circumstances, the best or closest family that some are blessed with is the “family” composed of positively good friends. I know that wonderful friends are sometimes the sole people who can help a person move along in this life.

2) Often there is a person who has physically moved far away from their family – like a young college kid/grad who has relocated his or her self to a distant point on the globe for an internship or job offer – and the nearest “family” they have now is the positively good friends that they make in their new town or city. (I’ve been in the shoes of this person.)

Which leads me to this next thought: there is a “family of God.” Each of us is a brother or sister in it. I am not telling you a fairytale when I’m telling you this. I am telling you fact. It’s reality. It’s actuality. There is a Father in Heaven who is the Father of all of us. He loves us – each of us – a lot. And when I say “a lot,” I mean “a looooooooooooottttttttt.” Yup. It’s fact. I’m really telling you the truth. (By the way, if you’d like to find out for yourself if what I’m telling you really is true, talk to Him. Talk to God? Yes! You can actually do that! Pretty sweet, right? Take a calm and an earnest heart to Him and talk with Him about it. Then see what happens.)

I am most deeply and sincerely thankful to God – my Heavenly Father – for all the different sorts of brothers and sisters and families I have with me as I journey along in this world. I have “homes away from homes” where I find a lot of joy that raises me up. There are many splendid “homes away from homes” that many of us enjoy, and they are populated by exceptional people who shape us in great ways.

I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: the crowning joy of all joys I find in this life is when I’m with my family, including loving parents, terrific siblings and siblings-in-law, nieces and nephews, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and the list continues. I believe that this “crowning joy” can be obtained by a person either in this life or hereafter, for this greatest joy is a joy that is eternal and extends beyond the grave, for it is of God.

I believe that friendships are sacred, priceless, and precious, and are also of God. Again, I am so thankful for all my loved ones with whom I belong to the family of God. I hope and look forward to living with my loved ones forever, and I find much delight and – I’ll say it once more – JOY in living among them now.

To see more of what I believe and know to be right, this is awesome. (Click, for it is beautiful.)

Much of my beautiful family.

Several of my beautiful friends.