are you afraid of your family tree?

In the midst of this holiday season, families gather together in all manner of celebration with friends and family. We stress about whether our presents will be liked, our holiday meals will taste good, and most of all we stress about who we are going to see.

“Will Great Aunt Kara’s son be there?”
“Will Cousin Bill show up? You know he is just as bad as his grandfather was.”
“What about your sister-in-law, Meghan? She is such a gossip.”

Family Christmas

Just like you and everybody else, I have every version of famous and infamous characters in my family tree. You name it, it is probably there. But this is your family. Love them. God loves them and He wants us to act in love, not just to the chosen few but to all.

”Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” - 1 John 4:11-12

So, let’s have a plan this year and not make the season about us. It’s not about you. It’s not about me. Our presents, our food, our time: that’s all a gift for our families at the holidays. Gifts don’t come with conditions. They’re gifts!

Make it about them. It can be easy for us to be a little condescending and justify our actions toward our families over the holiday. These folks we gather with are family but often not our best friends. But if it’s not about us, then we can look deeper and see what our family needs. Even the broken ones.

And most importantly, don’t be afraid of your family tree. Perhaps I should be, but I’m not afraid of mine. The people that make up our family line have shaped us in some way, whether we aspire to be like them or learn from some of their mistakes. The history they have given us allows us to see the past, learn from it, and run toward who we want to be.

Our families are not perfect. They never will be. Neither will we. But I’m convinced that over this holiday season, you and I can look at our family trees, appreciate the things we find, and truly love our families as we gather in celebration.

Searching for wisdom and asking for grace,

Jody