Family

What we expect of our families and how those expectations do not match reality is the stuff family politics are made of.

Family of origin.
Extended family.
Nuclear family.

Sometimes....

Sometimes life's circumstances just get you down.
Surgeries.
Pain.
Loss.
Foreclosure.
Being misunderstood.
No paycheck.
Sadness.
Missing loved ones.
Aborted plans.

Just go on.
Keep reaching.
Things happen for a reason.
One ending creates a new beginning.
Get ready.
Go.

Don't complain, and don't explain.

These two words of advice pretty much cover most of how you can "be" in this world.

If you complain about a lot of things a lot of the time, you will be considered negative, and rightly so. The only people who like negative people are other negative people. Especially if their negatives agree. But often, the topic doesn't matter as much as the general negative attitude. You've heard the old adage: "Misery loves company." Well, indeed it does.

So, complainers will often find themselves looking for company, as they watch the retreating backs of many of their acquaintances. They're lonely. Maybe eventually, they will get the idea that being positive is a better ingredient in the making of friendships. Don't complain to them about their complaining. They have to find this out on their own.

Don't explain. It is just about defensiveness. The young lady who dashes into her place of employ, crying in a whiney voice to no one in particular: "The traffic, ugh! It was so crowded this morning." No one asked her. No one even accused her of being late. She's just pleading her case.

She knows she's late.
And she knows it has nothing to do with the traffic.

Jesus could have completely reversed the tragic events in his own life. All he had to do was explain. He could have defended himself. But he needs no defense. And he never complained about it.