This past weekend my family and I went on an annual weekend getaway to the Georgia mountains with another family. Our last 2 trips, I asked to stay home to get some alone time away from my family and have some extra friend-time instead. In the past 2 years, I didn’t care for going because I’m the oldest of the 5 kids and I felt bored while they all took off in their imaginations. But this year, I said yes to coming along because I realized this could be one of the last times in a long time that we’ll have an all-family vacation.
I’ve been walking through these thoughts the past couple months. The fact that I will be moving out in about a year and how a lot of things I do with my family could be the last time. I’ve taken many of the little things for granted…
like my nugget’s squeeze-hugs and my brother wanting me to pay attention to all his accomplishments on Fort Nite.
….Hugging my dad more, and spending more quality time with my mom
…..and saying, “I love you” to each one more often.
I think God is putting these things on my mind not just because they’re my family l, but… I know I have some unresolved hurt with a few of my family members. God wants me to be intentional and pursue forgiveness now, not later.
If I push it on the back burner, I risk a worse disconnect, only making it feel more difficult, maybe even too hard to ever truly feel close to them again. So, I’m spending more time with them, intentionally being with my family, to strengthen our bonds and even resolve some tension.
I’v recently walked through some hard emotions and found a place in my heart to love them, when really this whole time, I’ve had the place in my heart, I just had to rediscover it and make more room for them as I got rid of some bitterness. It’s now my turn to let them in again and really love them for all they are, faults and all.
I think something we can all learn from this is that we all have people in our life that we don’t seem to get along with easily or make room in our hearts to accept and love them as they are. But I’m here to say that you do have the place in your heart, you just have to let them in. More often than not that person wants to love you and vise versa, but we have to let them into that special place to be able to do so. However, sometimes we become unwilling because we stop accepting them with their flaws. It has required lots of forgiveness and even courage to keep trying. Another action step is asking God to help you and honor God in the imperfect person.
God loves and forgives us and we are imperfect, and in learning to lean on him for help to love and forgive those who have hurt me. Who knows what is in store… For me, I had more fun with my family and bonded with them in GA that I had in a long time and it has been worth it!
