May 24th, 2023

Hey Church Family!Family is something that shapes us in profound ways.  We all come from somewhere.  We all have a history.  Essentially the story of you doesn't begin with you.  You have a family into which you were born.  You have a home-town which a culture that shaped you.  You have family dynamics that created who you are today.  In other words, your past directly affects your future.

A sad reality for many of us is that our past shows up in our present as baggage.  A childhood bully who regularly called you names, a high school best friend who betrayed you, a parent who was overly critical of your failures, or a parent who wasn't present—all these events and experiences shape us in profound ways.  Unfortunately, the option that many of us choose is to carry the hurt and pain of these experiences with us—sometimes for years or decades.

Hebrews 12:1-2 encourages us to lose the baggage that keeps us from being all that God desires for us.  So then let's run the race that is laid out in front of us, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.  Let's throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up, and fix our eyes on Jesus, faith's pioneer and perfecter.

The reality is you cannot be healed from what you're unwilling to face.  Neither do the things we ignore improve.

I'd like to encourage you to reflect on some questions in an effort to allow Christ to bring about some healing.  The healing comes when we notice how our past has shaped us, but then allow Christ to instruct us on what to do with it.  We look back at our past, not to dwell in the pain, nor to find the person we can blame for the way we are.  Rather, we look back so that we can begin to take responsibility for the choices we make moving forward.

Here are some questions to think about:

1. How did your family handle conflict?
2. How did your family handle feelings?
3. How did your family talk about things like sex, gender roles, money, etc.?
4. Who were the family heroes or villains?
5. What was considered success in your family?
6. What kinds of addictions existed in your family?
7. Where there any traumatic losses in your past, such as sudden death, prolonged illnesses, still-births, miscarriages, bankruptcies, or divorces?

Again, the challenge is to recognize how your family shaped you, but then to ask, "What does Christ say?  How does Christ instruct us to live?"

I pray that this challenge this week will bring about some new light in your journey with Christ, and lead you into a growing relationship with him.

Together in Christ,
​Pastor Michael