A little about me

This semester I'm in Psychology and Sociology back to back on the same day, and it has been making me think about what has driven me to become who I am. Maybe in the future I'll reflect on other issues like why people act they do when they see change in someones life, why people are hesitant to even learn about Jesus, and the lack of belief in anything spiritual (or rather the attempt to run from or explain away the spiritual world).

I realize that a huge part of who I am comes from my family, and for a long time my disregard for that family connection. My family is HUGE and in some ways that makes it easier to disconnect. My dad is 1 of 17 children all from the same parents. That is right, SEVENTEEN. The last 2 were twins. Only one isn't married. That adds up to a total of 31 aunts and uncles. A ridiculous amount of cousins, second cousins, and so on. My mom, on the other hand, had 1 sister who I never met. Quite a contrast there.
Speaking of family I never met, I never met either of my grandfathers. Just sayin'.
So my dad had 2 sons (Kenneth and Raymond) and 2 daughters (Rhonda and Mary) with another wife, and around that time my mom had a son (Aaron) and daughter (Catie) with another husband. Add in lots and LOTS of drama, bake for a number of years, and we find my mom and dad together with me. I'm 7 years younger than my youngest sister, and 19 years younger than my oldest brother.
So what do we do? Move to Carolina Beach!
I pretty much only lived with my sisters, mom, and dad till the end of elementary school when I became an only child due to the others moving out. I heard all of the troubles that went along with divorce from 2 sides of the family and my parents were together. And oh yeah. Remember my brother (Kenneth), 19 years older than me? I was an uncle by the age of 8.

Yeah.

I grew up in a bit of a different family.

I don't know how exactly, but I know that I am who I am because of family!
For years I took them for granted and now I'm seeing the value in that relationship. I love my family like crazy because we're crazy and I wouldn't change that for the world.

Family is definitely important! I have some close friends that I consider a part of my family, and that is important too! Being a part of Gods family is most important! Now, I don't always agree with how some of my BIC's (Brother-in-Christ) and SIC's (Sister-in-Christ) act or live, but my life is lived out in prayer, patience, and tolerance. I literally have family all over the globe. Anywhere God sends me, I know that I can find this most important resource of family, and that is one of the biggest blessings anyone could ever ask for.

Next weekend I'm going to be visiting my oldest sister (Rhonda) and her husband because she just had her first born. :D I'll miss my friends and Lifepoint here, but that is important. I hope you all get a chance to set aside time for family!
God bless you with His love
John