The importance of family
I love this time of year -- the fall colors, sweater weather, hunting season, Friday night lights and the beginning of the holiday season. We celebrated Halloween last week. Halloween is a fun holiday. I have enjoyed seeing our community get so involved in it. It is one of the many ways we come closer together. But there is another holiday celebrated at almost the exact same time that I also love. It is a holiday that I don’t actually celebrate. This holiday is celebrated traditionally in Mexico but is gaining popularity in the United States. I am speaking of The Day of the Dead.
I taught Spanish at the high school level for 13 years. As part of being a teacher of a world language, you also get to teach a lot about the cultures where that language is spoken. I would always get excited this time of year to be able to teach about The Day of the Dead. It is a common misconception that it is simply Mexico’s version of Halloween. But if you were to do some research into the origins of both holidays, you would quickly find out that, while they do share some similarities, they are far more different than they are alike.
If you have ever watched Disney’s “Coco,” you’ll have some understanding of what I mean. Without going too deep into how The Day of the Dead is celebrated, I’d like to focus on why it is celebrated. It is a holiday centered around remembering ancestors, celebrating family and honoring those ties that bind us together. This causes me to think of the verse in Malachi 4:6, “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers…”
The family unit is the central and most nuclear unit of society. We are all born into this Earth as part of a family. Families come in all shapes and sizes, and I know that it is God’s plan that we be together as families. Sadly, in today’s society, the family unit is being attacked. High divorce rates, lower birth rates, nonconformity, progressive ideals and changes in the popular belief for the need of family relationships all add to this. And the adversary knows that if he can destroy families, he can divide us, weaken us and gain power over us.
Now, the last thing I want to do is be critical of anyone’s family situation. Most of the time we have very little choice in the makeup of our families. And I am certainly aware that abusive situations exist in some families. If you are in one of those kinds of situations, I urge you to seek help from trusted sources or professionals.
If past experiences with family have left you feeling like you’d be better off without one, I’d ask you to consider not letting the chain end with you but begin anew with you. No matter what your current family situation looks like, each of us can do our part to make our families and homes a place where love, support and safety abound, making our family relationships a priority. Families are work, there is no doubt about it. But some of the most important work that you will ever do will be within the walls of your own home.
I know that God loves all his children. He has organized us into families so we can love and care for each other. And He has given us a perfect example to follow, His son Jesus Christ. We can study His teachings, apply them into our lives and do our best to emulate Him. As we approach Thanksgiving, let’s be thankful for what God has given us and do our best to cherish our families. Let’s strive to be forgiving, patient, loyal and loving. And let’s not forget those who came before us, our ancestors, who paved the way through their own toil and sacrifice to bless us with all that we have today.