Growing up as a child I got to enjoy everything first hand because I was the first child. Brand new clothes, shoes, toys and everything you can think of I had it brand new. And one of the things that I really enjoyed the most is the attention given to me by my parents. I was the only child until my younger brother was born, but he died prematurely while my mom was giving birth. My brother Ernesto was too weak and had complications while he was in the womb. And even more for 5 years the attention was again on me until my sister came along (no regrets by the way).
I remember when I was 3 years old my mom would teach me how to pray and respect God; we called him papa Jesus. At an early age I was taught about the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph). My dad would tell me “They are the perfect family and we are to look up to them and imitate how they live.” This greatly influenced my life while growing up, and for some reason it was placed in my memory bank – that one day I said to myself, ‘I would like to imitate the Holy Family.’
God’s plan for all of us is to have a holy family. No wonder why in Genesis God placed the idea of a husband and wife (Adam & Eve) then later their own family. Jesus the God Son came through a family even though he did not have to. God understands that the family is the single unit that creates a community. This is the perfect example of the TRINITY – a loving community of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The family is what God had in mind from the beginning. Not just a family but a loving family, a loving community.
God through his loving and permissible power allowed us to exist so that we can experience what love, joy, peace, and sometimes sadness. All these emotions are powerful that makes a human being a HUMAN BEING. God’s infinite love for us is beyond our understanding, and even if we don’t know it, He still loves us. God and Family work hand in hand. God’s JOY is the FAMILY.
As a challenge and a starter for all of us if we are not doing it yet… let’s start loving our families, understanding each other just like the Holy Trinity – each one in a whirlwind of love, complementing each other and not overpowering, always in a mutual understanding, and pouring out of each one with unconditional love, joy and peace.
Then God teaches us to hope so that we can rely on his divine providence. This is not easy, and nobody said it is and just as what my good friend (Lawrence) always says,
Nothing worthwhile comes easy or else everyone will be doing it.
If this is of good value and worth doing, then we ought to try and start doing something. It all starts from everyone in the family (from us) by being in love with the author of love and passing that unconditional love to our family. Where can we find this, where can learn this? Through the church and our Catholic faith. This is what most of us call our second family.
Come, see, and learn how you can change your relationship with your family and God.
On point my man!