How Do You Love Your Family

Source: c/s / iOne

Want news at your fingertips? Text “ERICA” to 52140 to join our club. (Terms and conditions)

So yesterday, all of the family came over with a few folks from church and a few other friends that stopped by and I woke up at about 7:00 in the morning, got up going to the grocery store, chopping and cutting and getting ready for my family to come and come over. You know, we said 1:00, but most of them showed up around 2:00. It’s OK we understood it. I wasn’t surprised by that. But I love when my family comes around. I love the reset that we get because we talk on the phone and we text and we have a family zoom, a prayer in the morning, but when we actually get to see each other, it’s always a bit different and that’s what I want to talk about seeing each other versus text versus texting each other.

A lot of us have people that we love and maybe they’re far and across the country and you can’t physically see them, but when you can make sure that you do because it changes. So you can say I love you and give hugs and do all those things on social media. But seeing someone’s face and actually being in their presence and giving them a hug is different.

My family has been through a lot. We’ve lost my my grandmother, my father and then my favorite aunt, and that everybody in that family has gone on to be with the Lord. And so we don’t gather as much as we used to. And we know that that happens in families because, you know, mom and them was the reason we got together. You have to make sure that you are intentional about your family connection, intentional about spending time together and I love that my cousins are honest and they’re like, you know, I I feel like I’ve gone through dot dot, dot by myself and I don’t want to go through it by myself and we’re here.

Get News & Exclusive Contest in Your Inbox:

And so it’s two sided you know, yes, I should have been there, but I want you to ask me not after you’ve been sick and tired of me for four weeks, you know? So learning to speak up in your life and speaking up with your loved ones is so important. It strengthens your relationship. And then when you actually see each other, there’s not those uncomfortable feelings when you feel like they don’t really care and then we just literally have to learn to speak up in our lives.

Those are the uncomfortable things because it leaves you vulnerable. It leaves you open and no one wants to feel like that. And if you’ve grown up or you felt like your feelings and your words didn’t matter, then you say things like it don’t matter. But it does what you say matters. How you express it matters. And when you say it matters when you say what you say matters.

I love my family. I love our honesty, but I even love that we can. We’re OK with being uncomfortable, you know, with the conversations that feel like I’m have to be held accountable. It’s OK. Being held accountable is good when it’s with people that you love and you care about so I’m grateful for that.

Grateful for the uncomfortable conversations that lead to healing, the uncomfortable conversations that lead to restoration, the uncomfortable conversations that lead to minimizing the lies that the enemy has been telling you. You know, they don’t care, and it don’t matter. And yes, it does. And yes, they do.

People get caught up in their own lives and they get busy, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t love you. But you can say something. It’s OK. I haven’t heard from you in a while. It’s OK. Just say I missed y’all. You know, I know you were busy, but next time I want you to show up to the birthday party. That’s OK to say. Guess what? It strengthens the family and it teaches you how to speak. Love. What? Y’all love language in your family. Learn what it is and then learn to speak it. That is my Erica ISM for the day. Ladies and gentlemen, I love you. And I mean it. Listen, I’m nothing without my family. I’m absolutely nothing without my family.

They pray for me, they cover me, they hold me accountable. They are a big part of the reason I am who I am, so I’m grateful for it. I’m grateful for them.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR APP AND TAKE US WITH YOU ANYWHERE!

READ MORE STORIES ON GETUPERICA.COM:

HEAD BACK TO GETUPERICA.COM

How Do You Love Your Family | Ericaism was originally published on getuperica.com