The Complexity of Family

Yesterday was a fun yet strange day. We spent the afternoon with 3 of John's siblings that we didn't really know existed until about 6 months ago. As an in-law I am sort of outside the situation and can enjoy watching it play out like a juicy soap opera and yet having been in the family more than half my life I feel a part of what is going on as we all are learning about a man we never knew.

I have a little experience with this in my own family as my dad shared some of his past with us a few years ago. It caused me to stop in my tracks and ask myself if my life was real. Was my happy childhood and my good relationship with my father real? And if it was real, why was it real? Why did I get the good life while someone else had struggles? It is hard to see your parents as real people who have made real mistakes. They should just be your parents.

Both our dad's have something important in common. A very big God who stepped in and saved them, who changed their lives and the paths they were on. And as a result changed our lives as well. So the childhood John and I had with our fathers was real. And as a result of the new knowledge I can better know and understand my father and my father in law. I may not have secrets I am hiding from my early 20's but I definitely made mistakes and would hate to still be judged because of them. But the trials of my youth have been part of creating who I am today. So I am thankful for who our fathers were in the past because it has created the men we know and love today.