The Fun in Dysfunction

Say hello to my family. Yes, that’s right, it’s blurred. But that’s us.

You’d think as full-time wedding photographers that we’d actually get at least ONE good family picture at our family events. Right after this picture was taken, everyone dispersed, continued their Xbox Call of Duty game, checked the football score, made sure the turkey was not on fire, and picked up the happy baby.

Here’s our family picture from two years ago. Told ya.

Every time we have a special event, or holiday, and the siblings are in town with spouses, dogs, or kid, we never seem to get a really good family picture. It’s just how we are. We get good shots of individuals, laughter, food, but the posed family pic… you’d think this is the easiest! This year we were missing our sweet sister, Becky, so the picture was incomplete.

If you came into the Hoffman Home blindfolded around the holidays, you’d basically hear someone yelling at the football game in the family room, music and laughter in the kitchen, someone dancing, and someone is bound to laugh so hard they might just find themselves with wet pants. That’s the fun stuff. On the flip side, there’s almost always an argument, especially if a board game is involved like Catan or Monopoly. Something may catch on fire, someone gets blamed, the dogs are barking, complaints about something, and texting and cell phones ringing or vibrating. Both sides are SO normal for us. For some it’s like a reality tv show and love it, enjoy being around, and on the flip side, others get overwhelmed and can only spend so much time in the same room. However, we like to say we put the fun in dys”fun”ction. Ask anyone who married into our family, they can testify.

This was the first year in a long time my parents hosted Thanksgiving in their home. Normally we go to a relatives home. All the food was made from scratch (compliments of momma hoffman). The house smelled awesome. The weekend consisted of time with our PA family up at the dairy farm. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, the guys went paintballing, the girls go to Hobby Lobby, a tradition started the year Patrick and I started dating. Here’s some pics from our time together. More about dysfunction at the end.

Dispite the sometimes chaos, it was amazing to be with family. We’ve not always seen eye to eye on things, but there’s one thing that has remained. Love. We LOVE family. Love each other. Love each other so much that sometimes we’ve have to be hard on each other. Yes, they’ve been hard on me too. This Thanksgiving, we took time in the midst of “life” – constant movement, constant going, busy busy busy… for family.  I’m thankful for parents that instilled love and relationship in us. We all sat together at the table, and prayed as one… thanking our Lord for where he’s brought us. We try to do this regardless of the holiday.

This holiday season, take time to rest. Take time for family. Hit the stop button. See those relatives you haven’t seen in months, maybe years. You may feel that you’re family is dysfunctional, a mess, things are not a peace. Stop running. There’s always hope for restoration, and reconciliation. God is big. He is within us. We will not fail. You can only do your part in loving your family. Be open. Have fun. Put the fun in dys”fun”ction. You’re not responsible for the misery of others. You’re love and intentionality with them may plant seeds of redemption and reconciliation. Keep on lovin’.

If I had a #TBT today, it would be to my college days when one of my chaplains shared this with me.