Getting true closure with a family conflict is something we all are facing nowadays. But true closure starts with your higher power and with you, most of all.
It is very important to not turn your family members into your enemy. The way the world is now, we need one another more than ever. Life is too short to go on being upset at each other. Sometimes just telling your family members how much you love them or apologizing about the conflict you’re having with them means more than anything.
Another way to help solve a family conflict is to learn how to forgive your loved ones. Forgiveness is a good thing to have and to share with the ones who love you.
I see that it is hard for many people to show forgiveness. It sometimes can be a little bit scary. But it is good to have forgiveness to help with the conflict with a family member.
Knowing that your family loves you and cares about you for who you are is really what families are all about. The real key, most of all, is to try to communicate more and understand the situation better. With communication and understanding, you’re showing how much you really love one another. Sometimes it pays just to sit down and be that extra ear when your family member has situations that he or she doesn’t understand.
I have learned over the years that families don’t back away from each other. But sometimes we do need to give some space to the family member with whom we are having a conflict. Sometimes we need time to think things out in order to make things right.
We need to love our family members like our higher power loves us.
We need to understand that conflicts don’t last forever. It takes the family as a whole to really solve conflicts together. One way that families can solve things is to sit down at the table of sisterhood and brotherhood and try to write down the pros and cons of the situation and talk about it together.
Teamwork makes the family work. If we try to resolve our conflicts as a family, it will, in fact, pass on to the next generation to come.
• Raymon M. Johnson III is a van monitor for the Ray Tribble Senior Care Center and a member of Friendship House and Life Help mental health center.
