From; Brenda Walsh Ministries
Broken Families.

There’s no such thing as a “perfect family.” All families are broken, even God’s family. Imagine how God felt when Satan rebelled and took a third of the angels with him. All throughout the Bible, you read about broken families, even those who claimed to love God the most. It’s important to note that just because you are “family” doesn’t give you license to hurt each other. Someone once said, “Most of the scars on people’s hearts weren’t left by their enemies. They were left by the people that claimed to love them the most.” And, oh, how true that is. Only the people that you love have the power to hurt your heart. Sadly, too often it is your own family members that inflict the pain. Over and over again, you hear of siblings who don’t speak to each other, parents fighting with their adult children, and grandparents prohibited from seeing their own grandkids. Oceans of tears have been shed because of pain that was inflicted . . . all in the name of “love.” But as much as you want your family to change, only God has the power to heal hearts. You can’t “fix people,” not even your relatives! Pray for Holy Spirit guidance, and if you’re the injured party, forgive those who have hurt you. If you have hurt someone, make it right and ask for forgiveness. There are some family units that are so toxic that the best thing to do is forgive but love them from a distance. Do not let the behavior of others, even if they are “family,” destroy your inner peace. Families you “choose” are sometimes closer than those related by blood. The Bible says in Mark 3:33-35, “ ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’ ” In other words, if you are united with Christ, you are family with fellow Christians. Even if your family is broken, God won’t abandon you. He is there ready to heal broken hearts... and broken families too. Text: 1 John 4:20, Exodus 20:12, Psalm 133:1, Proverbs 17:6