Try this word association. What do you picture when you see the word family? Is it images of family game nights, trips to the park, or bedtimes while you drowsily listen to Mom or Dad read out loud from C.S. Lewis? Or perhaps you think of accusations slung at you for a sibling's sin, cramming everyone into the mini van (or maybe the 15-passenger), or the need for some space? Is it a combination of good and bad memories?

Family can hold that comfortable corner of your heart. At the same time, family produces that pull-out-your-hair-by-the-roots effect. Sometimes, family feels too close to love.

Family members see each other at their best and at their worst. Yet love remains. I submit that your family - whatever the members consist of - knows you better than anyone else. Better than a good friend, a teacher, or respected counselor. That unique closeness shared by family members combined with God's stamp of approval on the family unit means that family deserves the utmost respect.

God's command to "love one another" starts at home. If you cannot find love in your heart for those closest to you, how can you love anyone? How can you love God? After his own authority, God put family first right from the beginning. Yes, this mixture of peace, love, rivalry, noise, frustration, and foundations is God's design for us. Families are far from perfect. Yet they are God's plan. After surviving my own mistakes and decisions made apart from God, I know that God's plan is best. So if God elevated family as our first taste of social life, authority and friendships, we can trust Him!

Try another word association. What do you think of when you see the word God? God reveals Himself to us throughout the Bible. We know that God is patient, all-knowing, just, righteous, love, holy, everywhere at once, and full of compassion. This same God, who also has all wisdom and knowledge, loves you in a personal way. In His knowledge, He placed you in your family.

Yes, it is easy to complain about brothers who make everyone late for everything. And if your sister borrows clothes without asking one more time, you may not be responsible for your actions. Next time you are tempted to give in to the frustration that comes packaged with family, remember who placed you there: God Himself. God put all of you together. To stretch you. To encourage you. To please Him.

Your family may be far from perfect. God didn't say loving others would be easy; He did say to do it.  So, hug your sister today. Connect with your little brother, even if it means building an entire old west town out of Lego's. Show your parents the respect that their God-given position deserves. Show love and compassion and start at home! Pray for Christ's love to overflow in you. It must spill over to those closest - family - before you can share it with others.

Lisa Nagel makes her home in beautiful West Virginia.  She is blessed to have an amazing husband and two little girls of her own. Lisa desires to write and to be used effectively by her Savior - hopefully at the same time.