Families--the best and worst of life--by Linden Malki

Families can be the most wonderful and comforting place to live; or they can be the most terrible and painful environment that can be imagined. We can even see this in Scripture; what we have in the words of God are both the most beautiful and also the most depressing stories that we find in any literature. The Bible is honest; people have not changed in the millenia since the beginning. If we pay attention to the world around us, we find both the best and the worst.

I grew up in a neighborhood that had them both. My own family was not perfect (whose is?) but we got along relatively well and pretty much dealt with issues as they arose. My parents both grew up in Christian families, went to church regularly, were taught right from wrong and watched for opportunities to help people whenever we could. Our extended families were also raised in churches and get along with each other pretty well (in most cases). I thank God for watching out for us and blessing us in many ways.

Not all of our friends and neighbors were as fortunate. There were families on our block whose idea of raising kids was to shove them out the door in the morning and then step outside and cuss at them periodically; and not pay any actual attention to what they were doing. My mom did keep an eye out, so I avoided the worst of what was going on, but I realized later that I did learn too much too young about some things. Some of the families did pack the kids off to Confession on Saturdays, so they had some acquaintance with God; and my dad scooped as many of them as possible for VBS at our church. A few of them had parents who were involved in churches; and the only one that I am still in any regular touch with is one of them.

We mostly live around a similar mix of people; some healthy families and some totally dysfunctional, and everything in between. What can we do about it? We can live lives that demonstrate the best of what God intends for His people; we can watch for opportunities to show care and concern and words of wisdom (without being judgmental); and we can pray for those that are put in our path.