What is a family? A family is a mobile...a living...intricate mobile made up of human personalities...an artwork that takes years, even generations, to produce...which is never finished.

Every individual is growing, changing, developing, or declining- intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and psychologically. A family is a grouping of individuals who are affecting each other intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and psychologically. No two years, no two months, or two days is there the exact same blend or mix within the family, as each individual person is changing.

Contestantly changing patterns, affected by each other, inspiried by each other, helped by each other. A family which is real in space and time and history, with roots in the past and stretching out into the future.

A Christian family is blown by gentle the breeze of the Holy Spirit...one can picture not perfection, but a measure of reality in thinking...never static, with always new fascination in discovering new points of communication as human beings are growing and developing.

The deep underlying sense of importance of family continuity must be stronger than the insistence on having perfection. People throw away what they could have had, by insisting on perfection, which they cannot have...

Artists have to work to produce their art. It doesn't fall down ready made from the sky!

From: What Is A Family by Edith Schaeffer.