Family Ties or Tourniquet?

When it comes to the dysfunction of family, your’re either the problem, part of the problem or have distant yourself from the problematic people. The latter has chosen a means of survival to preserve their peace of mind and sanity. The fighting (physically in some families), the bickering, the drinking and apologizing later, the spilling of family secrets, the manipulation, the games, the ones who switch sides faster than a blink of an eye, who’s mad at who this year, the constant windmill of gossip is more than a few can take but, seems to be very enjoyable by others in the family. I mean some just can’t get enough of the drama and they say to their detriment “Well, you can’t get rid of family. Blood is thicker than water.” Blood is not always thicker than water and while you can’t get rid of your family you don’t have to be a part of the circus. WARNING: I’d think twice and twice again before marrying into a family full of chaos and drama. I have found the way people interact with their family is how they interact in their relationships. My nerves are too bad for your family’s constant turmoil.

Some family ties are more like a tourniquet cutting the life and light off within you. You can barely make it through a cook out or another pot un-luck dinner. You get sick to your stomach thinking about “going over there.” Torture.

It takes  a strong individual to command peace in an environment of chaos and a brave one to go in time after time into the “Family Feud”. Instead of a host for the show you need a referee! If your spiritual life and your family life are polar opposites then it could be because of the ties are becoming a tourniquet. No way your busy body becomes a holy body at mass, a mosque, or whatever your holy day of the week is, and goes back to a busy body in the family keeping up mess. No way you can teach forgiveness and you can’t forgive your sister. No way you can read daily devotions and scriptures and curse everyone out in a drunken tirade every family gathering. What’s going on here?

You may not can be light to everyone in your family but, you’ll surely die if you don’t cut those ties that are tourniquets.

~Nikki

Just a free flow of thoughts today on this. No particular organization of thoughts. I hope you get something out of it.