Friday, October 2, 2009

Family Matters

Dear Reader

Families are one of those aspects in life that we as humans or any other species do not choose. In a sense maybe if God gave us the ability to decide what people we would want to be our parents, our siblings and other family members, the Homo sapiens species as we know it, might be extinct. Who would choose an imperfect soul, predestined with ungodly diseases, void of manners, a bad sense of humor, a body as old as the hills. Surely not "I", wait I have these faults according to my daughter Taunji and she still loves me.

Faults is what makes us human, "we" are not perfect, because "we" are not God. We can strive for perfection, but perfection is unattainable even to the purest of pure. That is not to indicate that "we" should not strive to be the best we can be from a moral standpoint. And "we" as humans will make mistakes, this is when "we" forgive. In the case of family forgiveness is a more difficult matter, for some families. In the case of my family, forgiveness seems unattainable.

It all started in the 1950's when my mother fell in love with my dad. It sounds simple, in the fifties there was nothing simple about a bi-ricial marriage, no matter what part of the country one lived. My mother is Russian and Jewish and my father is African American or in those days a "negro". Ironically I was raised Catholic, but that is whole other blog. I have two older Sisters and we all got along well, until my Moms mother made a surprise visit, thus the expression was born, "guess whose coming to dinner", took on a new meaning to our household. I never saw my Grandmother again, I never got to know my Grandfather or meet my cousins from my Mothers side of the family. In my mind I forgave, my Grandparents, but I do not sense my Mom forgave them, thus starts the complexity of forgiveness.

Fast forward today, my family is feuding over the fact that forgiveness for some is so difficult to reason or fathom. For the most part, "my family" got along very well together. It was not until the family expanded, did problems, simple problems that turned into a snowball rolling down a steep mountain, life went astray.

Forgiveness is one of the most effortless expressions that we as humans can exert to one another. Jesus expressed in the bible we should forgive seventy seven times seven, I ask my Readers to take heed to that message, because in these difficult times, we need to forgive each other, then move on and embrace each other with love.

I pray everyday to God, that my family can be whole again. Today, tomorrow, call a love one and tell them you love them, tell them "you" are sorry about any misunderstandings, because you never know when the Lord is going to come a knocking, love is so contagious, love someone today.

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