Ever wonder why you relatives are so weird?  Join the club.  Me too.

For the record, they probably think we are pretty weird too.  In my case, I know that is the case.  My father had four sons and I’m the only one he called “Floyd Thomas.”  Apparently, Floyd Thomas wore tennis shoes no matter the rest of his outfit.  You have to admit, a Sunday Suit with tennis shoes is pretty darn weird.

Agnus, a character in The Search For Signs Of Intelligent Life In The Universe (played by Lily Tomlin on Broadway), observes:   “I look at my family, I feel like detached retina.” (p. 88)

That’s one of my all-time favorite lines.

Another is:  “the problem with parents is they had parents.”  (Edwin Friedman, Generation to Generation.)

There are good reasons people are the way they are.  There are good reasons you are the way you are.  We all grew up in a family of origin.  We developed patterns for living, coping and relating.

Do you know your family of origin’s patterns?  Are you aware of how your family of origin impacts you on a daily basis?

Many people try to be just the opposite of a parent or family figure and in so doing think they have been liberated from their family.  Not true.  Real freedom comes when you are aware of the impact your family of origin had and has on you and then make a conscious decision to be a certain way.

May God deliver us from family of origin blindness and lead us to self-acceptance and love of others, even of those who are weird.