17/30: Family. "Family... they're the people in your life you don't get to pick. The ones that are given to you, as opposed to those you get to choose." ~ Sarah Dessen, Lock and Key
That's why family is the best starting point to practice loving others unconditionally. You didn't choose them and whether you like it or not, you are forever bonded to them by affinity, and sometimes, by proximity. But loving others is easier said than done. I am, by no means, the most loving person in my family. Since I embraced Christianity, it's the loving part that I've struggled with the most. Time and again, I am reminded of Jesus' command to love. In Luke 10:27, he summed up our relationships to two levels of priority:
First: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Second: Love your neighbors as yourself.
Loving our neighbors practically means loving everybody else. Since we spend most of our time with our family, it is through them that we should learn to be more loving each day. Our family is our first neighbor, the first zone where people have the capacity to nurture as much as the capacity to hurt. My family has experienced a sort of "extreme adjustment" in the past two years that has left all of us feeling exhausted and unloved at some point. To be honest, I have given and taken my own share of the "hurting" piece of the family drama. God has humbled me each time and I've learned to forgive and let go. I love my folks and my bros. And even though I'm still a stubborn apprentice in the "loving your family" department, I press on just as God wants me to, especially now that I have started a family of my own.
Lastly, what we nurture grows and forms us. Jesus is the expert in relationships and if we keep ourselves attached to the expert, then it's likely that we'll pick up from His examples. Loving like Christ means being patient, being kind, not keeping record of wrongs, amongst many. I do have a lot to learn from the Expert!
And I know it's quite a prologue to our family portraits, but here they are:
Lastly, what we nurture grows and forms us. Jesus is the expert in relationships and if we keep ourselves attached to the expert, then it's likely that we'll pick up from His examples. Loving like Christ means being patient, being kind, not keeping record of wrongs, amongst many. I do have a lot to learn from the Expert!
And I know it's quite a prologue to our family portraits, but here they are:
My family on my wedding day: (without my father who I wished were there to walk me down the aisle, but that is water under the bridge now.)
Me and my handsome siblings (L-R, from youngest to eldest, my kuya filled in my father's shoes.)
My super sister-in-law and my beautiful nieces and nephew
The Look Alike (but perpetually denying the fact).
No comments :
Post a Comment