We are Family!!

Ok, my family is filled with democrats, republicans, conservatives, liberals, Christians, undecided, longhair, short hair, overweight, skinny fitness buffs, working moms, stay at home moms, the well to do, the not so well off, great cooks, can not even boil water!, the hairy, the bald, the freckles, the organized neat ones, the sloppy maybe I can find it in a week or two people, the young full of energy, obnoxious teenagers (please insert eye roll here!), the youth just out of college trying to find their way, the middle age, the upper middle age, and the senior citizens, the meat lovers, and the vegetarians. My family is filled with pretty much any type of person you can name. Where am I going with this you are wondering (stick around I promise I have a point!)
Family is precious - you might not always get along, in fact the better you trust your bond of love the more you will feel to speak up when you disagree!! You learn to listen to other points of views, you learn to see the world through someone else view, you might be lucky enough to inherit some tried and true recipes that have been handed down through the generations! IF, and I do emphasis the "IF" you may be real lucky to have a hot line to call to ask all those cooking questions to if you are trying a recipe for the first time, if grandparents are still alive!!
It's where you learn to accept others that are different from you, or who think different from you!!! Your family allows you to never be truly alone!! You will never have to wait in the waiting room at the emergency room alone, if you loose your job, somebody always has room or extra to give! If your heart is broken someone is there to help you glue back the pieces and help it heal again! Family fills in when someone decides to bow out from not being there (my hubby's grandfather taught him to shave, and how to put on a cup!) The good, the bad, and the ugly occurs in family situations we are not always at our best but we hopeful learn and get to see love triumph over all! We learn the act of forgiveness! We learn how to give and share! We also learn how love seems to multiple to be given to a lot of people!!
I think that is what has bothered me most about the story of the lady who adopted an orphan from Russia - where was the love? where was the forgiveness? where was the acceptance? I have yet to hear any of that -regarding her, or her family and what they did to try to make possible (I will give the benefit of the doubt here) a difficult situation better?? It also has hurt the chances of other good individuals who would love to be parents who are currently trying to adopt a Russian orphan, as well as crushed the dreams of some orphans to have a family of their own! Family is such a blessing, a gift you give yourself - my heart is full of sadness when learning of this story -However I believe this story plays itself out here in America every day. My heart also hurts when I hear stories of unforgiveness that have broken and splintered families apart, or unacceptance that have shattered the bonds of love. When a spouse chooses to not honor the vows the made to their spouse. I pray that we would recognize today the value of our family and remember that things usually happen so slowly that we do not recognize the ripple effect it has!!! There is a song at right now (please forgive me I do not know who the singer is) where one of the lines says "families do not crumble in a day" so true - guard yours well, respect the individuals, forgive them when they mess up, and hopefully the will forgive you as well!! Sorry for my rambling this has been on my heart!!!