What does family mean to you?

As I sang with tears in my eyes, watching what looked like 100 people gathered around my papa’s burial sight to celebrate his 75 years here on earth, I began to truly reflect on what family means to me.

Truthfully, it shouldn’t have taken me losing someone who meant so much to me, for me to reflect on this topic, but it did.

It honestly hit me like a ton of bricks.

Not just because I lost my papa but also because I realized that family means so much to me.

By “so much” I don’t just mean an amount.

This is what I mean:

Family means constant support even when they don’t agree with my choices.

It means unconditional love even when I am so beyond undeserving.

It means believing in me when I don’t believe in myself.

It means being willing to understand even when it seems almost impossible.

Family means having relationships worth fighting for, without having to fear losing them.

See, my family consists of people I trust, value and stand beside in good times and bad.

We don’t always agree, we don’t always like each other and we definitely never make it through a holiday dinner without someone saying something ridiculous, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world.

We love with all our hearts no matter what happens or is said.

They are continuously proving to me that they are the most genuine people.

They constantly show me how blessed I am by the support and love they give me daily.

We work together, we learn together and we grow together.

I can honestly say that I feel so blessed to have the family that I have because without them I wouldn’t be anything like the girl I am today.

I wouldn’t be bubbly or constantly laughing.

I wouldn’t have had the foundation of God’s love that I had, which eventually helped me develop a strong relationship with Christ.

I wouldn’t have the confidence to be who I truly am.

I wouldn’t feel comfortable being myself.

Ultimately, I wouldn’t even be able to be sitting here right now writing this column either.

My family is my biggest blessing and when God has other plans, we huddle together and love. We don’t separate and do things alone. We grieve together and we make it out together.

My family is part of me that’ll remain constant no matter where life takes us. For that, I’m forever thankful.

That’s what family means to me.