What is Normal?

A few of my recent blogs have been about dysfunction in my family. One thing I realize is a dysfunctional family life is very normal or common place.  The dysfunction may be very different from family to family but it is still there. I had Pastors tell their stories and the dysfunction they came from. I have heard the stories of various church members and their dysfunctional upbringing. You can read in the Bible and if you look close enough you will see the dysfunction in the families in the Bible. Look at Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph had a coat of many colors, and we may all remember that story. If you pay attention you will see his family was dysfunctional. I you read about Samuel the Prophet, you will see his mother being mistreated by the other wife of Samuel's father. You can read about David the King of Israel and his dad didn't even bring him to the Prophet when they were searching  for the one that God has chosen as a replacemant for King Saul. Parent do not choose to do wrong by their children, mostly they don't know any better. Oft times we do not realize how hurtful some of the things we say are. We don't realize how hurtful some of our actions are to a child. Simple little things like watching TV and being so interested in the program we are watching, we don't see the hurt we do to a child trying to pick that time to talk to us. We don't take a course to teach us how to be good parents before have children. Often we spend more time researching the next car we want to buy than we spend researching the other parent for our children. And the children suffer because of our dysfunction and they pass it on to their children also. I don't write about the dysfunction and hurt I have seen in my life just to get it off my chest or to get even. I write to point to a God who understands all about it. he healer of the nations. The healer of families. The scripture says he is the father to the fatherless. He is the defender of the widow. He is the one that is there for us when we face difficulties. No one understands our hurt like God does. I remember a time before I went thru my first divorce and hearing a Christian man talking about his hurt going thru a divorce he didn't want and I didn't understand. I am thinking; just suck it up and be a man. Then some time later I suffered hurt from several unfaithful wives and went thru divorce after divorce and I understood. I understood after I went thru the same pain. God understands, he has been thru it all. It doesn't matter what dysfunction or hurt you have suffered. I may not have suffered the same hurts, and even a husband or wife will not always understand the pain of their spouse. God does. He has helped people thru enormous difficulties since the beginning of time. He created our complex beings. He wrote the book on us. He saw us in the future before we were even born. He knows us so well, even the hair on our head is numbered. We lose a couple hair and he knows. He understands where we came from. A sparrow falls to the ground and he knows. The Bible says we are worth much more than those sparrows. God cares, he has seen it all and understands. It is just normal everyday stuff to God. He has seen it all since the beginning of time. He was there when Cain killed his brother Abel. He was there when the Prophet Samuel's mother was being mistreated. He was there when Hosea had an unfaithful wife. He saw when Joseph was sold into slavery. He was there when Jesus died on the cross for us, and the sky went dark. Whatever we may be facing is just normal everyday stuff to God, he understands.  God bless, LVZ.