Well! It has been a busy week and weekend with lots of things happening! I have been working long hours at my new job… settling in to the routine there. We moved my brother and his family to a new place this weekend, and said goodbye to church friends moving far away. In addition to all the outside things happening in our little world, our little farm has been growing too… sort of. I think one of my hens is turning into a rooster. We were told 98% guarantee that our birds were girls. Not so sure now. We may have fallen into the 2%. Time will tell if we have to change Mavis’s name to Morris.

Not to mention the kids will be back from summer jobs and heading back to school next week! Where did the summer go?! I must admit, I did miss them. My grocery bill won’t be happy about it, but my heart will be. (Don’t tell them I told you I missed them!) All in all, my week has been all about relationships and the dynamics of “group”. And so, I muse.

“Heritage is something that belongs to us by reason of birth. It is the history of a family. Where a family came from and all of the traditions, customs and more have been passed down from generation to generation make up a family’s heritage.”

I got thinking about that dynamic. Family. Do we really bond only because of birth… or is it shared experiences? Grouping by commonality. My flock of chickens are not sisters, yet they certainly have group dynamics and drama and customs and well… function like a little “family”. Especially if one turns out to be a rooster ! Her…er, his… role will be protector and provider.

What about our church family? Traditions and heritage are certainly part of that group. We bonded with our church friends and will miss them when they are gone away because we have shared spiritual lessons and have learned together. Family dynamics.

“Family dynamics refer to the patterns of interactions among relatives, their roles and relationships, and the various factors that shape their interactions. Because family member rely on each other for emotional, physical, and economic support, they are one of the primary resources of security or stress.”

Workplace drama? Security, stress and economic support. That sounds like co-workers. I don’t know. I certainly am not a sociologist. I certainly don’t understand the psychology of any type of group dynamics. Yet, I know they exist. I know they are a big part of my life — and a big part of yours. God designed it that way. He provided a way for us to co-exist. And if one group of people don’t work for you, another might be the one that does.

Did we make the trek to the city to help my brother simply because he’s my brother? Partially, yes. We should be able to count on family… because they are family. Still, you and I both know that life doesn’t always work out as we plan. Sometimes friends “stick closer than a brother”. God gave us those fall backs too. He knew life was gonna get messy. We are going to need somebody ! And they don’t always have to share your DNA.

Like usual, I have no real finite lesson to draw here. I have nothing new to teach you about relationships. I simply know that they “are”. And I was thinking about them this week and how they all work out to grow and shape and mold us. I’ll be glad when the kids come home. If for no other reason that I can make them do work around here. Just kidding. They’re family.