My Family Culture

Imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

:A description of the three items I would choose 

 I would take take my family's photo album - This is a album of photos of relatives dating back to my fourth and fifth generations.

Grandma's Quilt. A beautifully woven  quilt that was made by my great grand mother.

My Bible- A holy book that Christians read for spiritual development and connection to God.

How would I explain to others what each of these items means to me

I value the photo album of my family because it holds the images of my dearest relatives, some whom I have never met, but have heard their stories about how they contributed to the growth and development of my family. I would also take the album because it may carry the only physical images of those relatives that have lost their lives in the catastrophic event. 

Grandma's Quilt- This quilt has sentimental value. It was a gift from my great grandmother to my mother, her eldest grand daughter, when she had me. She has given it to me and I hope to pass it to my daughter or grand daughter some day. It has the names of four generations of the Lewis women woven into it. 

I would take my bible because I am a Christian. Christianity has been the religion that my family has practised for generations. Each generation was taught to love and respect God by the elders. When I grew to the age where I could choose, I chose to continue serving God because I had built a personal relationship with God   I believe in such a situation I would need to keep closest to God to maintain my sanity. As I read the holy scriptures, I will be inspired to live on despite the catastrophe.  

My feelings if, upon arrival, I was told that I could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items I brought with me.

After losing everything then being asked to get rid of two of the three precious items I have kept will be devastating. However, I will choose to keep my bible. When everything is lost I have learnt to depend on God who is my source of strength. My faith teaches that God is the restorer of all things so I believe that once I have faith in God, then I have or will have all that I need to continue along. 

Insights I gained about myself, my family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differ that in general, as a result of this exercise.

I realize that my family and faith are very important to me. As I reflected on the value system, struggles  and successes that helped to create my family culture I am proud to be a member of this family.  Our family culture is wonderful. My appreciation for my family culture has grown through this activity.