Same but different

Isn’t it strange that the same thing can cause different reactions in you at different times?

Take for example families.

A few weeks ago I heard a comment from a family member that came as a complete surprise to me. It was totally unexpected and mind-blowing at the same time.

It was the most inclusive and positive comment I had heard from that quarter in over two decades. That time scale alone shows you how much it meant to me.

Then ... there was this other communication with my family that was such a strain that I almost wept from the sad intensity of it all.

On one hand families can unexpectedly warm your heart and then, on the other hand, the tension loaded words from another avenue in the same area can shatter your dreams into a million pieces.

This can happen in birth families, work families or church families. It’s the same thing, but different.