Family is family

Although I'm not always proud of the excessive amounts of television I can allow myself to watch in one sitting at times, I must say, I've gotten a lot out of it. When I find a show I like, it becomes like an addiction. I want more of it, and I want it now, and I don't want it to end. But the more I watch, the more upset I get because I know eventually, and sooner rather than later, it's going to end. Soon the last episode is going to air. Even if there is another season, the series is going to end at some point. Everything is going to end at some point.
But something I've realized not just about shows but about life in general is that we always have family. I know that sounds cliche and general even, because of course we always have family. Everyone technically has a family. I mean, it'd be a little hard to come into this world without at least a mother and a father. But family doesn't always mean what we are conditioned to think of it as.
Watching these shows, Gilmore Girls to be more specific, is proof of that. I know that this show doesn't capture the American ideals of family, with a mom and dad and some children with a dog or a cat. It portrays a mom and a daughter, just the two of them. And there are so many negative views of their relationship, as if this type of family is inappropriate and unconventional and that there is a need for a husband/father.
But to me, what I've realized is yes, it is incredible to have a true blood family. To have a mom, dad, brother, sister, pet, grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins that you love and get along with is great. God gave us that very special gift of family. But the Gilmore Girls version of a family did well, too. A deep relationship was formed within a mother and her daughter, much more than probably would have been formed were there a father or a brother or sister in the picture. They both always searched for more, thinking they were missing something, but always came back to the same conclusion: they were enough for each other. And it worked.

I've come to realize that I'm an extremely blessed individual. I have a true blood family that is amazing and genuine and loving. I am definitely a minority in that category. But beyond that family, I have a family of friends that support me and love me unconditionally. You see, family isn't just about blood. It isn't just about the people that you grew up with and that bought you things and provided for you. Family is about love, commitment, disappointments, good times. Family are those people that God places in our hearts forever. Those people that stand by us when we fall and help us back up. Family are those people that see us at our worst and still jump at the chance to call us friend. Family is about loving each other through the hard moments, through the great times, in fun and adventures, just as much as in dark periods and failures.

I have that family. I have those people in my life. And they aren't just friends, they are brothers and sisters. And they range in age from 16 to 50+ years old. There is no age limit. There is no gender or race requirements. They are love, they are Jesus in skin. And they aren't hard to find. If you look.

These people come from jobs, churches, streets, hospitals, prisons, anywhere. There isn't a mold for families. The only thing that makes ordinary people your family is the love that is within.

I guess this post generated from thinking about the idea of moving away in 8 months. I don't know where I'll be. I don't know what job in what location I'll get. But the thought of it thrills and terrifies me all at once because of these thoughts. But family is family. And nothing can break the bonds of true, genuine love between people. God created it, God fosters it, and He is unbreakable. Everything He touches and creates is perfect and bulletproof.

Family is family.