Recently I rented a movie — The Straight Story. It was about an old man whose brother suffered a stroke. The old man and his brother had not spoken in many years due to some long standing disagreement and hard feelings. The old man decided it was time to make peace between them, so he swallowed his pride and set off on a long journey to see his brother.

The movie had two main story lines. The first being the old man's realization that there was nothing more important than family, and his desire to set things right with his brother while there was still time to do so. The second story line dealt with the people the old man encountered along the way, and how his desire to re-establish his relationship with his brother affected the lives of those he came in contact with.

One particularly moving scene involved a young girl who had run away from home because she had become pregnant and couldn't face her family. She stumbled upon the old man's camp one evening and they shared a meal and campfire. After learning of her difficulty he told her a story about a game he played with his own children when they were very young. He gave his children each a stick and asked them to break it, which they easily accomplished. Then he gathered up the broken sticks, but this time he bundled them all together. He then asked the children to again try to break the sticks, but as the sticks were now bundled, none of the children could break them. He then told the children the bundle of sticks represented a family. The next morning when the old man awoke the young girl was gone but on the ground next to the smoldering campfire lay a bunch of sticks bundled together.

Since watching this movie, I've thought long and hard about my own life and family and how many times I've let disagreements and hard feelings come between us. It's interesting how we expect others, especially family, to be supportive of our desire and decision to live our lives in our own way, and how we look to them and expect forgiveness when we make mistakes along life's journey. But at the same time how unforgiving we can be when those closest to us stumble or make life choices which we do not agree with.

Thinking of the old man in the movie, I'm wondering if it's only in our twilight years that we gain enough maturity and insight to not only recognize our mistakes, but have the courage to set things straight? I certainly hope not, for the time, love, and memories lost while waiting for this personal enlightenment can never be recaptured. I can think of nothing more important than family — this is who we are and where we come from. Family can be a true source of strength and love — the kind that knows no bounds nor has any contingencies. At least that's how it should be — right?

Perhaps the time is now to put aside whatever issues or problems we have within our own families and relationships and make peace. Time has a funny way of slipping by unnoticed and if we continue to put off until tomorrow what we can accomplish today, we might wake up one day to find tomorrow may never be.