i can begin to understand...

I grew up in pretty much a perfect Christian home.

I mean, sure. My parents had their fair share of failures and struggles. They came from broken marriages and made many mistakes in raising my sister and I, but I never went to bed fearful for where they would go if they died or if they'd still be married when I got up for school in the morning.

Because of this, it has been so hard for me to empathize with people who grew up with that. Who explain that they heard every night the constant fighting and yelling and feared for their parents and their own futures.

The turmoil my extended family expressed in shouts and sobs tonight, I'm sure, does not compare to being a young child and wondering if your parents still love each other. But now I can begin to understand. The pain and hurt shown through the tears and raised voices was something I wish I could forget forever.

I cry now not for the pain I overheard in my living room, but for the families who had to and still listen to that hurt every night.

May God pour out his peace on all those families this Christmas season... and may resolution and grace be extended to all sides.

<3jen