Quicksand Love
Quicksand Love
Family is an easy one for me to gush about. I will never deny that I am blessed in this area. We are very close, even though spread across the globe, but we still manage to do life together. If any of the Australian family members are visiting anywhere in North America, you will probably find us figuring out how to book a family holiday around their trip.
Our week was focused on families in crisis. My parents are first generation Christians and they dove right into serving in our local church. Their presence in The Church positioned them to see those hurting & broken that others might not. I watched them take many under their wing—love them, counsel them, always point them back God. They even did this with me when I was a hot mess. I think this might by why my heart is so for individuals & families in the church that are hurting in silence—I constantly saw the healing that came from simply being loved on.
No one should go it alone and no one should feel they need to hide their brokenness out of shame. Now that I’ve written that, I’ve just been convicted with the thought: what am I doing to be available or seek out those in need? This week, I feel I’ve been challenged to turn my eyes upwards & start looking more for who that might be.
I thought about how others might view our family and I came up with ‘quicksand love’. Meaning, if you even get the pleasure of getting near my family and they see that they can fill any space in your life, they will latch onto you and make you instantly a part of us. My parents are especially gracious with friends that don’t have family near or those who are going through struggles. They will embrace you instantly…but be warned, it is quicksand and you won’t be able to get out. I mean that in the best way possible. Just make sure when it comes to family dinners & events, your priorities are straight (ie. us…we are always the priority…*grin*).
On the flip side, we are also very protective of our members & if one is done wrong, or grieving, we all feel the pain. We don’t agree on everything, and we don’t all do life the same way. Regardless, we love each other unconditionally and for this I am truly grateful.
Knowing that a lot of people do not have this kind of support breaks my heart. It also, however, fuels me more to make sure I am loving on and embracing people in my quicksand love wherever I go. I am so grateful for organizations like Yonge Street Mission that make this their mission.