In our family, the coffee gene was there, strong and black. Family gatherings always included the 40 cup percolator with coffee so thick, you could almost chew it.

Of course, there are always those in the family who “prefer tea.”

We didn’t kick ’em out of the family, stop inviting them to family events, talk smack about ’em behind their backs.

We’d just tease them to their faces.

After all, they were still family.

I was listening to a podcast the other day.
John Branyan, a Christian comedian, sets up a microphone once a week and just records a conversation he has with family, friends, and people he just wants to talk to.

Sometimes, the kids walk into the room and disrupt the whole conversation.

Sometimes, he records at Panera bread, and it is so loud, you can barely hear the conversation.

But, he doesn’t edit it. He plays it just as it happens.

And they have deep, searching talks, seasoned with laughter and sarcasm.

But, what I really liked was when John’s mom was angry at John’s daughter for a strong dose of opinions she had dispensed in an earlier podcast.

Mom came to the microphone, and they actually discussed the issues, with feeling, with passion, with thought, with love, sharing the different ideas, opposing sides, and working through it.

It was almost as if…

They really loved each other, even when they disagreed.

Imagine that!

She jokingly told her granddaughter she was considering unfriending her on Facebook.

But, as they talked, they discovered that the things they thought they disagreed on, they were really pretty close.

They found that, being honest, sharing feelings, being willing to listen, to think, to consider, solved differences in a much more effective way than holding onto hurt, or anger.

Could you imagine a family member blocking you because you believed in a different anything?

Family.

You gotta love ’em!

Right?

(April 20, 2017)