The Chain

So I was on my way home from the grocery store the other night and I found myself tearing up to a song on the radio. There are a couple things that make this situation a little odd. 1) I’m not a crier. I have nothing against criers. In fact I wish I was more emotional the simple fact is you’ll rarely see me tear up. 2) I was listening to a country station. Now I know not everyone has the sophistication it takes to listen to the heartfelt songs pouring forth from these country bumpkins but I find I relate to this genre, whatever that says about me. So there I am a mile from my house tears rolling down my cheeks and asking "What in the world is triggering this?!” The song on the radio was Zac Brown Band’s Highway 20 Ride. The basic premise of the song is the story of a divorced father who makes a trip each week on Highway 20 to pick up his son and spend time with him. The line that got me going is this:

“A day might come and you'll realize that if you could see through my eyes There was no other way to work it out And a part of you might hate me But son please don't mistake me For a man that didn’t care at all.”

In a time when 50% of marriages fail, I have been blessed with a family that has stayed together despite tough times. But there is something deeper in those lyrics that brought out my emotions. It’s the idea that good or bad we pass on our “stuff” to our children. Some call this family of origin issues, some call it generational sin, but whatever you call it, the fact is, we either continue to add links to the family chain of dysfunction or we break that chain and offer our children freedom from those bonds.

There are things my family has given me that I cherish, there are things I wish were not there and this is a truth of any family. Whether the good outweighs the bad or vice versa we would all do well to ask ourselves the question “What are we passing on to our children?” As we ask this question and the answers start coming I hope we commit to break the chains that foster dysfunction, strengthen the chains that foster health and pray for grace in the times that we will fail.



I’ve included a link to Highway 20 Ride for those of you brave enough to listen :-)