The Family Portrait – Retake

By Sarah Meece –

“All things work for the good of those who love him.”  Romans 8:28

During a family Thanksgiving gathering, we can practically guarantee that someone will exclaim, “Hey everybody, why don’t we all get together for a nice family portrait!” There’s sure to be some moaning and groaning and rolling of eyes, but eventually we find ourselves standing in the midst of family members, squeezed tightly together, trying to smile happily into the camera. The designated family photographer makes certain he can see everyone’s face, and then starts the countdown, “3…2…1…Say Cheeeeeze!”  Click.

As you stand in your designated spot within the group, you take just a moment to look around at the loved ones gathered around you. Somehow, you are concerned at what you see.  This family photo has not played out exactly as you had planned. Let take a look…

• Standing next to you is your daughter, your precious little girl, all grown up now, but you know she has strayed from God. After raising her in a home where God was a priority, you wonder what happened, why she has wandered so far.  Your heart hurts.
• To your left is your brother-in-law, your sister’s husband of over 20 years. He always appears congenial at family functions, but you are almost positive that he abuses your sister emotionally and possibly physically. Your sister refuses to talk about it and will not leave him because of her children.  You pray for them daily.
• Standing next to your sister, you notice your niece who has been dabbling in drugs and you worry that she may be addicted. You are concerned because you see it slowly destroying her and putting a wedge between her and your brother’s family. You want to talk with her, but you don’t want to overstep your bounds.
• Down on the end, almost out of sight, is your cousin who is suffering from a rare form of cancer. Chemotherapy has taken a toll on him; he looks feeble.  However, you are praising God to have him with you for yet another holiday.
• And then, there is that obvious absence in the portrait; you know, where your aunt always stood. The family continues to grieve for her.  While you know she was ready to meet the Lord, it’s just not the same without her.

The family portraits—they just don’t seem to work out the way we planned. Life doesn’t always play out the way we want it.  Not every life is going to be picture-perfect.  Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could just do a re-take? 

Let’s take a second here and think about God’s family portrait—David who had an affair and arranged for a man to be killed; Jacob who stole his father’s inheritance; Rahab who was a prostitute; Tamar who was pregnant by her father-in-law, just to name a few.  The Bible is loaded with characters who were anything but perfect children of God and a retake would certainly have been in order for the Heavenly Father. But out of the mess and the sin, God brought about redemption and salvation through these not-so-picture-perfect people.

Can we see God touching the lives of the people in our family portraits?  The messy circumstances in our families do not excuse us from being used by God.  Actually, it qualifies us.  John 16:33 tells us, “In this world, you will have trouble…” so we shouldn’t be surprised when unfortunate circumstances creep into our family’s portrait.  But, there is hope. The latter part of that verse says, “But take heart! I have overcome the world!”

Romans 8:28 says, “All things work for the good of those who love him.”  When life doesn’t play out like we had planned, we need a retake!  Luckily, with God as our cameraman we can get a second chance, another opportunity.  We can use our difficult experiences to bring God’s hope and peace to our hearts and in turn, share that gift with those we love.

When we take our wounds, scars, and failures to God, we can seek His love and His guidance.  Don’t be surprised when He takes your hot mess and turns it into a beautiful portrait when we love, worship, serve, and glorify Him.  Do you need to be the designated photographer who helps your family get into position for the retake?  Let’s pray our retakes play out the way God intended!  “3…2…1…Smile! God loves you!”

Sarah Meece is a survivor. Having weathered numerous life-threatening events—from bullets to breast cancer—Sarah definitely credits her survival to God’s grace. After retiring from education, Sarah has devoted her life to glorifying God. She founded Sarah Meece Inspires.