July: On Family

July 11

Some people can be emotionally literate and open with their love. For others, you might as well ask them to move a mountain—and yet, it still makes them the person they are—the person you love.

Some will work their hands to the bone to support you without ever saying a word—getting up early to warm the house and get to work so that you can eat and have a bed to sleep in. Some will climb to the top of a mountain and shout at the top of their lungs just how much they love you. One is not right, and the other is not wrong. They just are. 

This is not to say if your relationship is struggling to just let it be—no, if it’s strained, work on communication. Seek assistance from other family members, friends, and therapy. Assistance in unpacking those events and influences that helped shape the person in which you are struggling to understand . . . or maybe it’s you. 

You can get there.

Ultimately, don’t forget to love them for who they are, to understand that everyone says “I love you” a little differently, and to give grace to yourself and others in the short time you have together in this fleeting, wacky, and wonderful thing we call life.

• Reflection title: The Different Ways We Love
• Creative inspiration:  Robert Hayden, "Those Winter Sundays"
• Reflection question: Do I understand the ways my family loves me—and the ways I love them? Do I give grace, understanding that we all love in our own unique ways?