When there’s a crack in the family
a crack in the family/google images
When does an egg start to crack? Most times, it’s because new life is about to begin. Other times it’s because it’s been damaged.
I’m not sure about families.
I remember reading “The Mulvaneys” years ago. It’s about a family that everyone thought was perfect-but it was just a shell. It had a tiny, tiny crack that was barely discernible behind its perfect white exterior. But once it started to crack there was no stopping it.
There are cracks in most families. From some new life emerges. In others the crack just keeps deepening. Is it a person? Is it circumstances? Is it trauma? Was it all an illusion?
Is it our own individual cracks that hasten our families’ disintegration?
Is it the people who join our family network with their own “cracks”that hasten the demise?
Can a family survive and come away stronger after it has been broken in two?
I guess one would have to ask the families involved. One thing seems to be universal, families have to work to survive. That means staying in contact and staying connected. That will look different for each family. It means overlooking old wounds. It means giving each other the benefit of a doubt. It also means being honest and not pretending something doesn’t hurt if it does. None of this is easy. But the families that survive find a way to do just that.
What’s that famous saying from Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy?
“All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
May you and your family find ways to become strong.
God bless and have a good day.
