Family...

There are many different definitions for family. These are just a few I found in the dictionary.
1.any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children,uncles,aunts and so on.
2.a group of persons who form a household under one head, including parents, children, and servants.
3.a group of people who are generally not blood relations but who share common attitudes, interests, or goals and, frequently, live together

Family is something I have learned about more in the past two years of my life. I once felt like I didn't have a family, or that mine was different than everyone else's. But God has opened my eyes and my heart to what the word family means to me now.

For the first ten years of my life I had what you like to call the perfect little family, well I thought so. Than in my head for the next eleven years I referred to my family as incomplete and lost. I judged my own family, compared us to the rest of the world and was upset. What I didn't realize is that no one is perfect. Not one family out there has the white picket fence, happy little family with a smiling dog. The world has placed so much emphasis on what a family is suppose to look like that drives people to not focus on whats important.

Finally at the age of 24 the word family means more to me than anything. Family isnt just my parents, siblings, grandparents- it is the people who mean the most to me in life. Who have stood by me when I was angry, lost and hurting. Who have prayed for me , laughed with me and supported me. God has blessed me with extrodinary people who are each individual different but have made me who I am today. So I thank you. I thank my family for putting up with me, and my friends for loving me and being there to let me feel like I was normal. I thank my husband for showing me that we can have a family of our own. But really I thank God. He has shown me that even in times when I felt alone I never was. He is my family.

God has put people in my life to show me how to be a woman of God, a good mom, how to have a succesful marriage and to be a good friend. I challenge you to spend more time with the people that love you most, I know I am.

I leave you with a verse that has touched my heart this week. And to evaluate what family means to you.

John 17:24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.