Photo by Franci Strümpfer
I am currently reading a huge family saga which covers five generations of women. The more I read, the more I realise that we must deal with our issues. If we don’t, it becomes inevitable that we pass the damage on to our children.
There are a few instances of this in the Bible. Abraham, out of fear, lied and said Sarah was his sister and not his wife. Isaac, following in his footsteps repeated exactly the same mistake with his wife Rebekah. A more profound example is seen in King David’s family. He committed adultery and murder, and although he repented and sorted his life out before God, he cannot have dealt with the damage it did to his other children. In the course of time, one son raped his sister. Another son, Absalom, seethed quietly for a long time before taking revenge, committing murder, and eventually rose up against his father to usurp his throne. What a mess!
The hurt and pain that is inflicted upon us, if we don’t deal with it, will be inflicted on our children, whether we promise ourselves we won’t do it, or not. If we don’t break the cycle, if we don’t take our hurt before the Lord and find true healing and wholeness in Him and forgive those who have wronged us, then we are just setting up a pattern that will repeat itself generation after generation. Sad but true.
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” [Colossians 3:13 NIV]
Romancing The Rock 
Hi Amanda,
That’s very true. I had an eye-opening experience when I read my grandmother’s memoirs and saw so clearly that in the late 1800s, her own mother and grandma were dealing with some of the same issues I noticed in my own life and my little son’s. I knew we had to recognise the cycle and break it.
That’s awesome, Paula. Not the issues, but the fact you worked to put a stop to the cycle. 🙂