Family looks different for everyone.  For me growing up it was being an only child in a single parent home going to a Catholic school where all the kids came from large families with happily married parents that went to church every week and lived the good life.  

I was always different than most.  My parents were poor, divorced and lived on the wild side of things.  Rather than grow feeling like I didn’t have what it takes though, my dad always told me I could be anything I wanted to be and do anything with my life that I wanted.  He spoke life into me and told me that the generational sins and bondage ended with me and that I would be the one that would start a new family legacy.  You know what I believed my dad.  He spoke life into me in such a way that I never doubted that although I didn’t look the part I had the heart.  I didn’t have the money but I had the fortune.  I knew I would have everything I needed some day if I would believe God for it.  I saw God work miracles upon miracles in my life which would have never been possible if everything came easy and was as wonderful as everyone else made their life to look.  I learned that life goes on after a parent goes to jail and loses everything, I learned life goes on after your mom leaves and I learned God becomes a Father to the child who loses her mom at 16.   

Family life can be crazy.  There are 8 of us! Everyday we experience our Mercer Mayhem and love to show off God’s goodness in our Mercer Miracles.  It’s not all about the size, the dynamics, the problems or the peace it’s about the individual people who become a family.  

Of all things I’ve learned from being an only child to a mother of 6 is LET GO AND LET GOD!  As much as we may want or think we can control we are best to let go!  In false hope we hold tight, manipulate and try to fix everyone when finally we realize the best families are made of forgiving and forgiven broken people who learn to love not because it’s easy but because life is hard and we need each other!