Respecting his family

It's been a while since I've been on here... the subject I read on after respecting his words was respecting his work. I'm going to skip over that, just to prevent any potential misunderstandings. There's nothing to misunderstand, but just in the off chance that something gets misunderstood......too sticky.

So anyways, onto respecting his family. I'm beyond grateful and blessed  to be marrying into such a wonderful family. Do not get me wrong - Michael and I come from different families. We have different backgrounds and we communicate differently. However, at the end of the day, we both have parents and families that value the same things and we place our values in the same priority - the Lord, our family, our work. And that is a huge relief! I can marry this man knowing that whatever we find important, they will find important and will support us. I can also marry this many knowing we can confide in our families and trust that they will give us sound and relevant advice.

There are times even today, that I struggle to communicate with his family comfortably.

I come from a small family - the majority of my extended family living across the country, if not across the world from me. Having just one older sibling and come high school, just one parent. And by the time my parents divorced, my brother was in college so I rarely saw him. Coming from a Korean background, we are very big on respect, and not being outspoken. So although we love to talk and have fun, we aren't overly gregarious.

Michael on the other hand, is one of three sons. And since his parents owned their own company, they worked long and hard hours. But they always had nannies and grandmothers around to care for them. The majority of their extended family live approximately 530 miles from us, so it's not uncommon that they travel back and forth to each other for holidays and special occasions. And with Michael coming from a Southern and Latin background.... he and his family love to talk and be loud! :)

The differences in our families are fun, but at times, there are moments when I get exhausted. These are the times I need to remind myself that I need to still love and respect them and the time we have together. These are the people that have helped shape and form the man I love into who he is today!

So compared to some families out there, we really are able to have a wonderful relationship. But I pray I will never let that allow me to become lazy and comfortable in showing his family my utmost respect. Plus, over the years of us being together, I've realized that our families have more similarities than differences.