Welcome back!
Keep in mind that as much as they may love you, whether it is conscious or not, a few people may have a vested interest in keeping you stuck. Your pursuit of your destiny may be seen as a betrayal of group culture that dictates a person shouldn’t be educated, sober, kind, or financially successful. But family bloodlines and group memberships do not mean lifelong bondage. Ultimately, you are a child of the King that that tie supersedes any other.
You need to decide for yourself if you’d rather look back and be happy because you pursued your destiny, or if you’d rather look back and say other people were happy because you didn’t. It’s unfortunate that some groups place so much pressure on their members to conform, rather than supporting them to grow into the fullness of what God has called each individual member to be. Only you can judge if this is your situation. Even if that’s the case, it is probably not necessary for you to sever relationships completely. You can still go enjoy Thanksgiving dinner or other gatherings without discussing this aspect of your life. It isn’t really about people’s presence in your life, it’s about the power you allow them to have over the decisions you make. My personal policy is that when someone starts paying my mortgage and takes over full responsibility for all my obligations, then they can start telling me what to do. Otherwise, I get to make the decisions. I don’t listen to people who aren’t invested in me, my family, or my dreams. I’ve seen too many lives be seriously limited by the company people keep.
Until next time, I’ll be praying for you as you decide whether or not the group cultures you are a part of are going to help you get where you really want to go.
