Looking at a lot of your pictures tonight I noticed a lot of differences, but one similarity I noticed on all of them was that you were in it. Whether you like it or not, you are stuck with your family forever. No matter how little you are home or want to be home, you are still in the picture. Your family is one of the only things you can’t choose for yourself and it is one of the most powerful forces that shapes our lives.

Can I tell you something that happened to me the other day? I had great parents growing up, but there were many times that I told myself, “I am definitely going to be different than them!” I was talking to my daughter Grace the other morning and lo and behold, I said the same thing my dad used to say when I was growing up. Suddenly, I found myself turning into my dad!! I realized our family’s influence it often more powerful than we think.

Not only is your family influencing you, but you are influencing your family. You might say, "I'm not home much so I really don't have much to do with what's going on." Or, “they don’t really care that much what I think.” Well, everything about us influences our home: our silence, laughter, smiles, tears, love, and even our absence. You either make your family better or worse. Maybe you can’t control what happens in your family, but you can control how you respond. I can tell you that there have been some CL students who have affected their siblings, parents, and whole families by how they choose to live. You will have an impact on your family, it’s your choice what it is.

The Bible actually says, “Children, do what your parents tell you. "Honor your father and mother" is the first commandment that has a promise attached to it, namely, "so you will live well and have a long life." God says that the way we honor our parents has an impact on the rest of our lives. I don’t know about you, but living well and having a long life seem like pretty cool things and it all comes down to obeying God by obeying our parents.

You will probably have a family of your own some day and you will take with you the habits and skills you develop now in relating to your family. Anything you do to improve your family now, will probably help improve your future family as well!! Someday one of your kids will come to Campus Life and draw a picture of your family. You will play a huge part in what that family portrait looks like!