Beth said “Be motivated by LOVE not LOYALTY in our dysfunctional families.” How true, when we express childhood pain, and members of our family immediately shut us down with denial. Family loyalty requires us to stay in silence, live in anger and shame, and protect each other, for fear of losing love.

Do we seek freedom from captivity, when most of our family remains in bondage? Do we risk stepping outside the boundaries of family loyalty and sharing truth so healing may begin? Beth also says “Freedom is as contagious as bondage.” Do you have the courage to break free in your family?

My friend your story broke my heart and in a way made me glad to be an only child. What an inspiration to me you are!!

The part of this Session that spoke to me was when she said….

“Freedom is as Contagious as Bondage.”

I had to sit back and take a severe look at the things I am passing down to my Children. Do I want them to yearn and get Freedom or do I want them to yearn and get Bondage. I am their number 1 role model. Not just their parent but their Role Model…and I chose Freedom!!

What do you Choose??

As Beth spoke of the alcoholism in her family I had to think of my own life. My Grandfather was a deep-mine coal miner and an alcoholic. He abandoned his family but not before terrorizing them. My Father said he used to chase him up into the woods and beat him. Did that keep my Father from drinking? No, he was a drinker also and caused much unhappiness in our home amd domestic fights that we listened to late at night when he finally came home. He had a hard exterior and never hugged or kissed any of us five children and made fun of us a lot. He never told me he loved me til I was 42 years old. My brother was killed in an alcohol related death at the age of 21 when after going out with his music teacher to drink and after he drank too much he crawled into the back seat of his car and his drunk music teacher attempted to drive them home and left the highway at a high rate of speed. My brother was thrown from the car and killed. The music teacher is broke his leg. The car was unrecognizable. My younger sister is in bondage to this also. I did not drink until I was 21 years old and after getting a job in the music business was introduced to the life of entertainment which revolved around alcohol. It was a party all the time.If our record label had a number one song on the charts it was instant party during working hours. It was part of the job. But thank God I realized almost 20 years ago that there was more to life and I surrendered my life to Jesus and was not only delivered from drinking alcohol but I asked for any desire for it to be taken away and it was. I had no children to not pass the curse on to but I am glad I was able to end any bondage in my life by it. I now see my younger sister drinking way too much and “with” her adult children and my niece has a 15 year old daughter who is watching all this. I am the only one in my family who is saved and of course if I say anything to anyone about it I get those looks and comments about my spirituality and how they’re just “having fun”. Having fun killed my brother.
These are prime examples of what happens in families that continue the cycles.
Sad but true. I am just glad that I serve a God who is truly my deliverer and my waymaker.