Born Into the Family
Long legs were an asset!
We do not choose the family in which we are born, God does. Waking up Sunday morning after watching the assassination attempt on President Trump, July 13th, my heart ached for Melania and all the Trump children. Likewise, as the families of all public figures. They are thrown into the lime light, media mess, simply because of a family relationship over which they have no control.
The word reflection came to mind. There were a variety of definitions found for this noun.
1) One definition stated spiritually: "Reflective practices are a way for us to become aware of our own state of being. Mindful reflection brings us back to ourselves, allowing us to come closer to our own body, emotions, thoughts, and spirit."
2) Another stated: "The act of reflecting, as in casting back a light or heat, mirroring, or giving back or showing an image: the state of being reflected in this way. An image, representation; counterpart."
The words representation/counterpart are where I landed. Like it or not, our parents/spouses/children are labeled as our counterparts. People who represent a part of who we are.
Just this past week one of our sons, who is a builder in another city, was approached by a possible client. During the initial meeting the question of where our son was from came up and it ends up this man grew up a few houses away from my husband. Fortunately, my husband was held in high esteem by this man.
Similarly, a son of ours in Utah was approached to be a personal trainer for an individual who it ended up was a business colleague of my husband in 1982. Again, having a parent with a good reputation was a benefit to our child.
Those of us in Christ are in the family of God, created in his image. Genesis 1:27. We are thrust into the world's lime light and viewed differently and unfairly to a higher standard than those without Christ.
On Christianity.com, Pastor Robert Hampshire wrote: "Don't allow your identity or value to be wrapped up in what you think, how you feel, or even what you do-reconnect it back to who you belong to. You were made in the image of God. Live like it and love others like it...We are to...
- We look like God (we mirror his attributes); We act like God (we have dominion over the earth)
- We speak like God (we communicate just as he communicates)
- We live like God (we are made up of a body, soul, and spirit similar to him)
- We love like God (we love because he first loved us)
- We create like God (we procreate new life through the marriage union, we create stories, art, etc."
The Song
"Father" Jeremy Camp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVK91ZY4XQ
