For the Kids.

Last night at Bible study, we talked a bit about Genesis 32. The comment was brought up that Joseph does not get anyone back for what they do to him, but when his brothers come around he messes with them a bit. We talked about how sometimes it is more important for us to call out our families even if they have fully betrayed us. We test them and put them through trial because we want them to be better than that. We want the next generation to be better than this generation. We have to make it a point to help our future generations. It is our job to make future generations better. It is on us and no matter how much we may dislike our families, there still is something in us that cares.

This all hit me even more than it did last night. As we were with our students today, I saw a lot of pain in one family. I saw anger and tension and hardship. Arguments from farther up in the family has come down to the kids. And it is hurting them and holding back their growth. It is keeping them from growing in relationships with one another and with the family in general. This is what they are seeing and they are watching. Not saying that we should use the excuse that because of the family they grew up in gives them a right to be a certain way, but it is the family's obligation to help them to become more than that. I don't want these kids to raise a family in the homes that they have grown up in. I watch them come in broken and hurt and know that they can be better than this. I know that they can raise a family in something better. I know that they can raise a family in something bigger. I know that as a body, as a family, that it is our duty to see to it that they do.