A lovely girl I dance with named, Amanda, taught me this little analogy. She said that everyone is a tulip or and oak tree. Sometimes, you are strong and can handle things on your own (like an oak tree) and sometimes you are delicate (like a tulip) and need someone to come along side you.
I feel like a tulip today as God has asked me to surrender my family to Him. This has actually been something He has been consistently asking of me, but I haven't really been grasping what that means until recently.
My family is everything to me. My parents have taught me almost everything I know; my brothers and sisters filled in the rest. There isn't a story worth telling that doesn't have one of them involved. They are my smile! Which is why my senior year was probably my hardest. My parents marriage was ending, roughly. And we were all hurting. The enemy just tore into us like I had never seen and before I knew it, my family didn't seem like my family anymore... But then came healing. I felt God telling me to move out of my parents house for my health because the stress was a little too much too handle. But our faithful God put me in the best place I could have imagined and He went to work mending my heart.
This past year, I have seen Him do the same thing for my family as a whole and individuals. One of my favorite things about my family, is that we are survivors, but not every one has realized it yet. But they don't always see what I see in them; the people God has made them or is making them to be.
My dad is the most persevering man I know. He has sacrificed everything for us and being "Daddy's little girl" is probably my most favorite role in the world. He is always there.
My mama is the strongest woman I have ever known. Her way with people is so infectious and inspiring. On my weakest days, she was her strongest as she never stopped fighting for me. If I am half the woman she is, then I will consider myself immensely blessed.
My big sisters are beautiful! And I don't just mean that they are outwardly breath-taking (which they are), but I mean in the sense that their HEARTS possess true beauty. They are strong like my mama and they are woman that you cant help to notice because there is something attractively different about them.
And my brothers... oh my dear brothers. They are everything a sister could ever hope and want. These young men are passionate and bold; there ferocity for the things they love will stop every one in their tracks.
That is my family. That is the family that God created for me to have and I have a dream. I have a dream for my family that one day, we will come together again as more than just biological family, but as brothers and sisters in Christ! I dream we are standing together, fighting! Fighting for the things of God and purely for His glory! Whether its in the central valley of California, or the depths of an unreached nation; we are there fighting. My parents, divorced or not, have laid aside their differences and offer their unique talents and gifts for much more than this world can offer. My sisters tender hearts and strong voices speak out for those who don't have the freedom to speak at all. And my brothers, my brothers that are built to lead nations, are there! Being the leaders God has called them to be and leading the lost from the darkness. Our husbands/wives/children are with us, and we are all united as one team under God. And together, the Holy Spirit uses us to bring His love to those who have never experienced it!
That may just be a childlike fantasy that a little girl who loves her family so much desires. However, this little girl, chooses to believe that it is her families calling! To be an oak when the other is a tulip. To submit ourselves as one unit over to the Holy Spirit so He can use us for much greater things then we could have ever imagined. That this time of healing, brings us closer than we could have ever known.
So Lord, I trust You. I know in my heart of hearts that You are working in my family and drawing us all to You. You wont give up on us! You love them more than I ever could and You hear my cries. You hear my heart screaming "Not my family! We will not be broken!". And You have answered, You have answered with love, patience, and gentleness. Thank you for endlessly being our "oak tree". Thank you God, for taking my family into Your steady hands and not letting go. Amen.
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