Every family has struggles! Military families have some serious pressures on them these days, which can bring more arguments, hurt feelings and loneliness. Struggling families actually started with the first family ever recorded and has been going on ever since. God understands, not condones, this brokenness, and because he does, there is hope even in the midst of the messiness.
Story:
The Twilight series is about the chance meeting and eventual romantic relationship between Isabella Swan (Bella) and the immortal vampire, Edward Cullen, in a small, gloomy town of Forks, Washington. The enthralling series captivates the imagination with Werewolves and Vampires and forbidden love and commitment and discovery and more! And it’s all set in the teenage world of high school drama, with the first movie concluding at the prom, a teen “rite of passage” as Edward calls it.
But how did Bella even get to Forks in the first place? It’s so common these days, that it’s hardly recognizable that Bella comes from a shattered family where the parents have not only divorced, but moved multiple states away from each other with completely different climates and environments. The setting for the series is a teenaged girl who decides to go live with her dad after about 12 years of being with her mom in Phoenix, Arizona, when her mom decides to remarry. There are numerous references to the pull between the two parents and Bella, and, in order to protect her dad from the rogue vampires, she moves out of the house and later tells Edward that she used the same phrase her mom had used to leave him.
Not every struggling family ends in divorce and all of the turmoil and emotions associated with it. However about 50% of marriages end that way in the U.S. Military families face many more stresses and pressures today than in the past. But every family has periods of struggle. Finding hope and coping mechanisms helps us weather the struggles and build stronger families.
Other than divorce, families might shatter due to drugs and alcohol, which can create havoc in the family dynamics as can emotional/physical abuse, anger, and a general disintegration of relationships caused by pressures and stresses of life, often financial.
In all of the brokenness and pain of shattered and struggling families, there is hope.
Bible Intro:
You may or may not take comfort in the fact that the first family on the planet had some serious dysfunction to it! The Scriptures do not hold back when it comes to the brokenness, which is the human condition. Read how the first brothers interacted in Adam and Eve’s family. Most likely, even if you feel like your family is pretty shattered, they probably haven’t gone this far. Damaged families have been around since the beginning, and God understands what you’re up against.
Scripture: Genesis 4:1–16
Personal Questions:
- Have you ever thought about the Twilight series as a story set in the midst of a fractured family? Is it so commonplace that you didn’t really notice? Is there any good that can come from being part of a shattered family?
- Were you shocked to discover that Adam and Eve and their two sons, Cain and Abel, experienced the shattering of their family through a murder? After the death of Abel, how did they lose Cain as well?
- How do you think God understands some of your family brokenness? Do you sense his presence or involvement?
Continue interacting with this topic here.
Prayer:
For these souls and all families struggling to stay together,
we pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.
