My Not So Perfect {and yet perfect} Family Tree

My parents are the kind of people you want to be your neighbors. They are nice to everyone they meet and will always welcome you into their house for dinner. Granted my mom will worry sick over the fact that the house wasn?t clean enough and she?d apologize a hundred times for either not having enough for everyone to be gluttonous at the table or for the laundry basket full of clothes that you can barely see at the end of the hallway and my dad would diagnose any car troubles you were having by just listening to your engine in the driveway. But from the moment you arrive they?ll spoil you silly. I love that about them. My in-laws are the exact same way. My husband and I are lucky to still have both our parents and to not have the struggles of divorce in our pasts. They have left us with a rich heritage to use as the foundation for our marriage and our parenting.
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However, I remember a specific day in college when I had the revelation that my parents weren?t perfect. They forgot to tell me That wasn?t mentioned when they were bending over backwards to take me to school functions and provide for my every need. I guess in my mind, I had set them up as the Mary Poppins of parents ? practically perfect in every way! When I encountered them as an adult and not through the eyes of a little girl, I saw their struggles and weaknesses. When I realized that my almost perfect parents weren?t in fact ? not perfect, I felt like my reality had been shifted. I saw their weaknesses, but even more than that I saw how God could work in them and through them in their weaknesses. I admit to struggling to grasp their imperfections when I had never noticed them before, but honestly, it made them more real to me and it opened the door to seeing how to interpret and live out their faith in life.

My husband and I spent some time in our relationship (almost 14? years now) discussing our perfect parents Not that we are sizing up their parenting at all ? just that we appreciated our upbringing and how we want to provide the safe, loving homes we grew up in for our two boys. We want to be intentional about one thing and that?s taking the opportunities to talk to our kids about our failures. Choosing to take a moment of weakness ? highlight it and then point our kids to the one and only perfect person in their lives ? their Creator. I don?t want them to see us striving to do anything other than loving our Savior and loving them.

There is a measuring stick for everything in life: your career, your house, your cars, your hobbies ? and the world is trying to size you up. Unfortunately, there is always someone willing to show you how you don?t meet the world?s expectations. There is never a shortage of places you can look to feel not good enough. But if you walk the road of life knowing you never will be perfect enough and that no one will ? you?ll cling to the only person you know who IS! And it just so happens, He is happy to be your landing pad in life.
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To my Daddy & Momma and to my husband?s parents ? there would never be enough room in this blog to tell you how wonderful you each are or how MUCH you?ve given us. I am so grateful you aren?t perfect, but that you gave us each a chance to know the ONE who is!
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P.S. ? these two little boys will have to wait a long time to see those imperfections you have ? they sure do love their grandparents and we are incredibly grateful.

What about you? How has your family heritage affected your marriage or how you parent? Even if you had a less than perfect family experience, the things you observed and the lessons you learned can positively influence how you move forward as a family.

{Photo Credit}

Jess Chambers

Jess Chambers juggles the best of both worlds on a daily basis ? a family she adores and a job she loves (well, most days). Wife to Aaron and mom to two amazing, energetic little boys ? Brody Rayf (3 ?) and Kellen Rhys (1), she aims daily to make the chaos look classy.

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Source: http://www.graceformoms.com/my-not-so-perfect-and-yet-perfect-family-tree/

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