FAMILY MATTERS

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I want to specially celebrate everyone that made it to the new month. It hasn't been easy, but we must thank God for all He's been doing in our lives. Last month was truly an impactful moment, and I hope that this new month will be better and greater. Special thanks to the management for scaling through the new month.

The subject for this discussion focuses on the extended family. In one of my posts, I clearly stated when I was sharing about family that anyone without family is a tree without roots. I doubt whether anyone just emanated from above without going through the process of birth. It might be possible, but I haven't seen it. Family is the bedrock of everything in the community and society at large.

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Every human being comes from one family or the other. Every criminal you see today came from a family. What composes the family is the father, the mother, and the children. In order to do justice to the topic set before us, I narrow my thoughts to extended family. The extended family can be either from the paternal side or the maternal side; whichever one it means the same even though there could be an African factor, but in the wider world there might not be any discrepancy.

Extended family consists of aunties, uncles, cousins, nephews, etc. They all have their vital role in every family setting. The first concern I would like to raise here is in the area of my relationship with the extended family. Growing up though not from the village simply because of the nature of my dad's job, I couldn't have complete access to the extended family until I became of age.

It would interest you to know that I never knew my grandfather and mother; however, my parents tried their best, but they died before I could realize it. I only managed to view them in pictures. Growing up in this kind of background, identifying my uncles and aunties was very challenging. It was when I started secondary school that I began to know a few of them and my cousins as well, especially those from my dad's side.

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The relationship tie I first had was with my cousins from my maternal side. Wow, it was totally another phase of the family for me. I got to know virtually all of them because my mother summoned all of them. My late grandmother was alive then. My mom was able to bring all of them during one of the festive periods where I familiarize myself with them. Therefore, my relationship with my cousins from my mother's side is powerful and stronger.

Later my dad too was able to bring almost all of us back to the village to see ourselves during the family meeting. Hmmm, that was where I started identifying my cousins. In a nutshell, my relationship with my extended family is averagely ok. There is a strong bond that makes them converge at least once a year for love feasts and prayers.I had the privilege to be raised by godly parents whose lifestyle is another testament to be reckoned with. I saw light through their coordination and connecting me to my extended family.

As you all know, we are humans; therefore, flaws are bound to happen, but I learned over time to focus more on the strength. There are virtues that I would like my children to emulate and improve on as God grants them grace, while on the other side there are other characters I wouldn't want them to copy or transfer to another generation. Some of my extended family members are somehow hypocritical in their lifestyle. What they say is not how they live. Some have temperamental issues, which, if not properly addressed, could scatter more. I have learned over time to see how I can maintain my terrain as I relate with my extended family.Thanks for reading this entry.