Is it a trend? Maybe it’s a movement. Whatever it is, it isn’t new. I remember some family members who went the better part of a decade without talking to each other, and way back then it had a different name…. estrangement. I don’t think there was a real need to change the term, but this generation, much like every generation, tends to think that they have discovered something’s nobody else has ever experienced so fine, let’s use your terminology. I know more families who are experiencing no contact than I can count on one hand. Let me say this up front so I can point to the disclaimer for all the yeah but people that always pop up on any controversial topic…. Sometimes no contact is necessary and proper. Never give up your religious convictions and never tolerate actual abuse. There, I said it, and now let me say this…. Most of the time it’s a sign of bullying and immaturity. Something happens during this punishment period, and make no mistake, punishment is the goal, regardless whether you will admit it or not, something happens that can never be recovered. Time is lost forever. Time is lost and people change. A death in our family is what brought my family members back together, and the sadness left an emotional impression on me, and I wasn’t a part of any of it. That’s another casualty of no contact, the spill over of the bullying onto other innocent family members. Life is hard, I have no universal solution, and everyone I know wants to believe that they are on the high ground, but I know one thing…. The high ground can become a very lonely place. Forgiveness doesn’t require a second party and sometimes you just need to be the one to make the first move. Sometimes after you’ve done all you can do, you just have no other choice but to wait. You have no idea how or if God is working on the other end of this estrangement. Maybe He’s still working on your end as well.

That’s all the hillbilly logic I have today,

God bless.

ws