Save the Neck for me Clark!

It may be the wrong attitude but I'm glad the holidays are over. I found myself thinking, "Didn't we just do this last month?" Why are Thanksgiving and Christmas so close anyway? There are family members I only see twice a year and it occurs approximately 30 days apart. It's crazy--not to mention poor planning. The Griswold family Christmas happened at our house again this year. Besides the Urinator, we had another special guest--the Crapper. All things considered, it went pretty smoothly. The only blip on the screen was my crazy grandmother's statement, "Is everyone sitting down? I have an announcement to make!" You can't imagine the amount of fear and trepidation that ran through my entire body at that moment. Turns out she went out with a black man which shouldn't be an issue, but it was unfortunately. I think we were just glad it wasn't something crazy like showing off a new boob-job or moving in next door.

Have you ever noticed how everyone has different expectations of what "family" should look like? But it's not just "family," It's everything connected to "family"--holidays, traditions, conflict resolution, etc. Then everyone gets married and their spouses join in with all of their expectations of "family." So what have you got? A big, honk'n, cornucopia of expectations. Sounds a lot like church doesn't it? A Mosaic window can be a beautiful thing when it's all put together but the secret is in the space between the different colors of shard glass. I imagine the space is symbolic of grace/love in our relationships. Sometimes I have to be willing to put my expectations aside for the greater good of the relationship. Sometimes it's compromise. Sometimes it's planting spirit-led seeds that may one day produce a spirit-led harvest in your relationship. I say Spirit-led because there's a fine line between leading others into God's future and obvious "fullness," and pulling folks to your idea of the "promised" relationship or family. Some might call it manipulation, others call it sin and still others call it good intentions.