A house divided...

Dear Children:

It's Thanksgiving time again.  I am really looking forward to spending time with all of you.  You are great kids. 

This time of year brings some sadness for me too.  I remember other Thanksgivings with extended family.  As a child I loved Thanksgiving with my mother's extended family.   That is all gone now.  Most family members that were on my side of the family are dead or have simply moved on.  There were lots of tensions in the family.  I really don't know what those tensions were about, however, as a child I greatly enjoyed being with my cousins and playing on Aunt Marie's back porch.

After I was married, we enjoyed being with both sides of our family... sadly that has gone by the wayside too.  As a child of a small family I find myself really missing being a part of a larger extended family.  Despite our efforts and consideration of our extended family it seems that no one wants to come out and play anymore. 

I really want you children to be friends going forward.  I pray that God will bless us with a bond that will last for many, many generations.  As your Mother that is my goal!

Both sides of the family have a great deal of brokenness.  Divorces, money problems, bad decisions that have had some big consequences, death, enabling, deceit all contribute to the mess.

I believe that the real problem is not any individual's particular issues, it is a lack of moral consensus within the extended family.  Family members want a pass on whatever they choose to do.  We have become a house divided.
"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as his saw fit".  Judges 17:6

Here is my thought.  All families have problems.  Death and divorce occur.  However if we as a family uphold a shared moral code of honoring marriage, holding children accountable, and being honest with each other things should go pretty well long term.  Please do not misunderstand me.  This does not mean that when things go wrong (like a divorce) you will be thrown out of the family.  It means that we share upholding the institution of marriage (and the Ten Commandments) while understanding that we live in a fallen world and things go wrong.  This is holding a shared vision of what Christ would have us be. 

I think this very thing is the root of the United States of America problems.  We as a nation do not share a moral consensus of upholding marriage or the Ten Commandments.  If we agree that the home and the Ten Commandments are the blueprint for an orderly society then we know where we are going as a nation. Sadly, the family problems are a reflection of our country's cultural problems. 

I love you all and this is my prayer...
""But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations".
Psalm 33:11