If you spend any time watching your favorite shows and movies you’ll notice a consistent theme across a large portion of the available content. A line-up of shows full of broken, messy, and dysfunctional families. You see spouses who tell lies, family members who deceive and hide secrets, out of control children who lack discipline and respect, bitter in-laws who gossip and stir up dissension, and long lost siblings that show up out of nowhere to reveal hidden truths that have been buried for decades. It’s the stuff of Hollywood fantasy and fiction right? Not really. These descriptors embody what is now considered the normal American family in the 21st century. It kind of makes you wonder, is everyone’s family crazy?
I know I’ve got a touch of crazy in my family (they would probably argue I’m the craziest one). When I take a look back through the generations of my family lineage I see a lot of dysfunction. Infidelity, addiction, poverty, divorce, violence, absentee fathers, and a slew of other issues I’m sure no one is proud of. It’s almost a miracle that I’m here today living life as a functioning adult. How was I not marred by the poor decision making of those that came before me? The answer is quite simple really. My parents chose to stop the cycle, lead by example, and begin building a solid foundation for my sister and I to build on.
The same is true of the The Robertson family. Phil and Kaye Robertson persevered through rocky beginnings that the average American would have bailed on (given the astronomical divorce rate in the United States). Their story is an example of how enduring faith, forgiveness, and a commitment to truth can turn a situation from a tragic ending to a transformative story. The impact of Phil and Kaye’s convictions have had a ripple effect across four generations of Robertsons. Faith, hope, love, patience, peace, and joy are now characteristics that best describe the Robertson clan. A far cry from the debilitating vices that were once prominent in the Robertson household.
A wise person once said, “you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family”. It’s a simple yet profound truth that I have come to understand more clearly over the years. I used to think the statement was a trap phrase that just meant that I was stuck with all of these crazy people for the rest of my life. I see it quite differently now. I think God gives us the families we have by design. He knows that when we allow his love to transform us, the people that will benefit the most are the people closest to us. Through our family we learn to cut our teeth in becoming followers of Jesus. We learn to be like Jesus for the people that are sometimes (or often) the most difficult for us to be around. Afterall, if you can’t practice patience, love, and kindness to the ones closest to you, how do you expect to do the same to those farther away?
The fact is that life is messy for all of us. There are no shortages of complications or challenges. We each face similar trials and circumstances that we have to deal with. But when we walk through our difficulties with Jesus, he helps us clean up the messes we’ve made. He teaches us how to break the cycle of brokenness, he heals the wounds of the past and he sets us on a solid foundation so that one day we can share our own stories of transformation. As we walk through our journey of life, we should take the time to ask ourselves, what stories will our children and grandchildren tell about us? How will they remember our legacy? Will they tell stories of how they had to overcome our vices or will they rejoice with gratitude for the firm foundation we gave them to stand on?
If you haven't already, check out our brand new limited series featuring the Robertson family, Dysfunction to Dynasty.
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