“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house” (Matthew 13:57).
I slammed the fridge door shut, just for the satisfaction of the pickle jars jarring in the door panels. My engagement ring caught my eye as it flashed past me in a blur of sparkle and tears. I sank to the floor of my apartment kitchenette. I slipped down, I slumped down, I set my phone down beside me.
I knew this weighty feeling would pass. I knew in my mind I would be able to breathe again. But this misunderstanding between me and my family about wedding plans felt like a black hole on the edge of the world. Living thousands of miles away from both my fiancé, my family, and our wedding location had left me with more tears, bouts of frustration, and texts fired off too quickly than I could have imagined.
No one would ever treat me this way except my family.
Maybe you're in the middle of navigating family relationships and just worn out by the drama. Maybe you're the overlooked sibling, the underpraised daughter, the one "without honor" among those you're closest with. It could be that your adult children have tuned you out or treated you with disrespect or you're in the midst of a custody battle shredding your very rib bones.
Guess Who gets it? Guess Who was dismissed and treated with no respect by His neighbors and childhood acquaintances? Yeah, Jesus.
Bring your pain, your frustration, your desire for new habits, new modes of communication and inroads to peace, bring them all to Him. He'll show you His wounded Sacred Heart and comfort your own. You may even find that there is a lesson in it for you, an area you can grow in and through, that otherwise you wouldn't be aware of.
I began the hard work of establishing my new family as our own unit when we were engaged. It's been over eleven years that we've continued to tend those boundaries, and each painful interaction has helped me grow in ways I never could have otherwise. Invite Him to guide you through it all.
He'll show you His wounded Sacred Heart and comfort your own. // @WholeParentingClick to tweet
This song can provide a particular closeness to Our Lord, Jesus.
Nell O’Leary is the Managing Editor for Blessed is She, an attorney turned writer, speaker, and editor while tending to her husband and five kiddos. She also facilitates our community groups as she loves helping women find sisterhood. Her undergrad is in English from University of Minnesota and her J.D. from Ave Maria School of Law. Notably, she can down a hot cocoa in two seconds. Find out more about her here.
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