Growing up, I had on several occasions wished I belonged to a certain family, and not mine. At certain times I had wished I belong to the family of my friend whose parents were rich, and they all live together a happy family. I had wished I had a caring father like my classmate whose school fees were paid on time, and who never had to engage in street hawking before being able to pay their school fees.

Trust me, as a child; I was for a very long time ashamed of my family because I felt I deserved a better one. It was much later that I began to see that the only reason my mother went through all the hardship and indebtedness was for our well-being. Her sacrifices and hard work was the foundation of our well being. I realized I couldn’t have a lovelier, caring and prayerful mother. My family is certainly irreplaceable!

What is family to you? Family is everything to some people, and to another majority, its nothing; just a medium through which we came into this world. Whichever school of thought you belong to, family is always important.

Family is the smallest unit of every society. God’s intention for creating man and woman was to raise a family that would occupy the earth. God commissioned man to multiply, replenish, cover the earth and dominate. And for animals, he made them male and female for the same purpose of reproduction.

Every man born into this world was a product of a relationship between a man and a woman (that is, a parent). A person may also become a member of a family by adoption, howbeit; he or she must first be born by the union of a man and a woman. Thus, the union between same sex cannot reproduce a biological offspring, as this is a perversion of God’s purpose for man.

Family performs different functions ranging from individual to society. Some of these functions include; meeting the basic needs of dependents; creating a sense of belonging for the family members through affections and care; training the children in acceptable way and inculcating morals and virtues necessary for a healthy society. A family also offer support for one another in many different ways.

The family becomes a community, and the communities make a great nation. The kind of society we have is a reflection of the kind of families that makes up such societies. Children get to learn values in the family; they learn to work together as a team; thereby building teamwork capacity from a young age. Family also functions as a bulwark against crime.

Literally, if we all had a choice of choosing our families; some marriages would be fruitless (barren forever) and some countries would be deserted forever too. In fact, imagine you reading this article had a choice of a country; would you have picked a your domicile of origin? OK, lets hold the country thought for a moment, would you have picked your father and mother to be your parents?

Sometimes, we regret belonging to our families and you wished you were never born into the country of your origin. Trust me, God wouldn’t have placed you in a better country. God strategically and divinely placed you here for a purpose, and so your family is irreplaceable!

Your background is not a reason for you to remain on the ground. Chogyam Trungpa puts it this way, “We do not have to be ashamed of what we are. As sentient beings we have wonderful backgrounds. These backgrounds may not be particularly enlightened or peaceful or intelligent. Nevertheless, we have soil good enough to cultivate; we can plant anything in it.”

As we commemorate the International Day of Families, remember; if life gives you lemon, make a lemonade out of it! Enjoy this family you’ve got, those ones you’re envying are probably wishing they had a family like yours. What you have is precious; celebrate your family! Happy World Family Day.

For more on the International Day of Families is observed every May 15. According to the UN website, the annual observance of the International Day of Families reflects the importance the international community attaches to families and their role in development. Recent commemorations of the Day focused on the role of families for the achievement of SDGs 1 – 5 and SDG 16. The Theme for this year’s celebration is: “Families and Climate Action: Focus on SDG13.” For more on this event, click: https://www.un.org/development/desa/family/international-day-of-families/2019-2.html

#worldfamilyday, #DayofFamilies

Yes, We Are Winning! WeCEEEyou!

 

 

Written by Titilola Ogunwale & Greatmark