Family & Plants

How important is family? I realize that most of my values and beliefs are rooted in my family. This makes me think of those that have no family. Money, yes that is good to have but it doesn’t bring happiness or satisfaction. I am thankful every day for my family, sure they aren’t all perfect neither am I.

I was looking at my aloe vera plants and was amazed at how they grow so well when the little plants are near the mother plant. They stand tall even when I forget to give them water. Some of the small plants I removed from the big pot with the mother plant, and I planted them in smaller pots each in a different pot. I have waited almost a year to see if they were going to do well in the new pot. The bottom shoots are just drooping over the edge of the pot. They haven’t done well which made me think about children that were abandoned or just left to take care of themselves.

They are like my aloa plants that just can’t seem to stand tall. They have problems in school and they have problems with relationships. They lack that parent planted beside them, giving encouragement to grow and expand their horizon by reaching up like my young aloa plants.

I have some cats on my Hobby Farm. Their family ties are different from ours but I have noticed they follow the example of their mother. This one cat in my shed has beautiful color but I can’t get near her she will run away. I leave her food and she comes to eat after I move away. She had baby kitties soon as she was old enough, but they learned from their mother to run away from me even though I fed them. They learned from their mother not to trust me. I was able to get one to come near me but he will not let me pick him up.

Children are like my cats; they learn from their parents how to react in life. As adults, they have panic attacks or shrink back when life gets hard. How we react now has a strong correlation to how we were raised. Maybe the child was not abandoned, but the negative vibes that can even be in the home of well-meaning parents shape the adult. Remember, they also bring some baggage from their parents into the family circle. There is no perfect family. Many adults today seek help from therapist and others just suck it up and keep working.

God didn’t leave us alone or abandon us, but has provided the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and help us through the difficult times. A therapist can be helpful but make sure you select the right one that will lead you in the way God wants you to be.

No one is perfect, so I will tell you what I do when I feel like having a panic attack. I listen to good music that reminds me of God’s love for me and my family, I read my Bible, and pray. There have been times when He answers immediately, but usually it is not, and some requests are still pending. The widow in the Bible went many times to the judge with her request, but finally got what she asked for. Some prayers are never answered because it was not for our best, God knows. Our part is to accept the answer and not become angry with God. He is not angry with us, he loves us.