You might ask, what do all of these things have in common? Each one of these things is a mechanism. They all work together, with their own individual parts, to create and do amazing things.
The family is like each of these mechanisms. A family works together to create remarkable, life changing, things. Like the parts in a mechanism, individual family members have specific roles they take on-- each with its own unique responsibilities and each as equally important. Fathers set an example to their daughters, provide for their family, tell endless Dad Jokes, and keep everyone safe. Mothers care for their children, they cook, they clean, they read silly books, listen to the same song over and over and OVER again. Children create a sense of innocence in the home, they bring laughter, learning experiences for everyone, and they help each member of the family develop deeper connections together. While some of these roles may seem insignificant, they each have a major purpose in the family dynamic.
The characteristics of each family member build a stronger family. To help capitalize on the importance of roles in the family, lets imagine 5 people standing in a circle holding hands, In the circle there is a mom, a dad, a sister, and two brothers. There is also one person outside of the circle.
The sister had a hard day at school. Her friends were mean, she failed her test, and she spilled her lunch in the lunchroom. Imagine the person outside of the circle pull back on the sisters shoulder, symbolizing her stress. As her shoulders pull back, the family moves with her. They readjust, and help her to stand straight again. The cycle continues throughout each member of the family. Because they are all linked together, they can support each other in their own way. When the dad was having a hard time, maybe the sister didn't readjust as much because her mom already repositioned her feet. Maybe when one of the brothers was struggling, the other brother pulled the weight and helped him to come back into the circle. Together, families can accomplish so much. It truly is a blessing that God gave us our families so that we wouldn't wander in the wilderness alone. However, not all families function the same way as the family above.
Sometimes there are roles that aren't quite as healthy or as beneficial to a certain member of a family or to the family as a whole. Most of the time, these roles detract from the family and actually cause a gap in their relationships. When you are with your family, do you ever feel like a dumpster? You know, like the person everyone goes to, to "spill the beans" or to "vent"? It can kind of be exhausting. Who is going to the take time to listen to you and your needs when you are the one always listening? How about being rebellious? The one person who does something "less than ideal" even when they know that they shouldn't. What about the couch potato in the family or the person who takes on the role of a parent, because someone has to step in? Do you recognize any of these roles--do they affect you personally in your family? It can be hard to grow individually when the stress of family weighs you down. When certain roles exist in a family, family growth is stagnant-no progress-no real victories.
Families can be hard, but they can also be the most rewarding part of life. To those who might not have the healthiest relationship with their family, what can you do to help your current (or future) family have healthy roles?
Families create eternal happiness, but only when each individual part works together to keep the mechanism moving forward. If one part stops moving or tries to switch its role, the whole mechanism will break and fall apart. Let's all strive to be a little better today than we were yesterday so that we can all be better parts of our eternal mechanism.
Iive happy,
Karlie
Comments
Post a Comment