You are wrong.

Losing a family is not a lesson that you or anyone you know will ever learn in a classroom. It is not a lesson that you or anyone you know will ever be able to accept, get over, deal with, or learn to live with. And it is not a lesson that I would recommend you or anyone you know goes through.

Because if you think family is forever, you are wrong.

I am certain that my story is similar to that of many in the world. I can guarantee you that I am not the only person on this planet that has suffered the loss of an entire family. But what makes this a bit different I feel is the fact that the loss of my family did not happen as a result of a car accident. It did not happen as a result of some tragic event. It didn't involve an earthquake, a tornado or anything else that you read about in the news.

In fact, my entire family, including my mother, father, brother and sister are all still alive, and from what I've been informed of recently thanks to a friend, reasonably healthy and functioning just fine. The most ironic part about it? They all live less than an hour away from me.

And I haven't spoken to them in eight years.

The ironic part about this story? There are no tragic details that I could fill you in on, no horror stories, and nothing even so off the wall that you'd question the sanity of someone, get angry at someone, or say mean things about how in the heck a family would go eight years without talking to their kid. But I'm here to tell you, if you think that family is forever?

You are wrong.

Years ago, I knew a friend who hadn't spoken to her family in nearly ten years. She had two children that her parents had never seen. They had grandchildren that they had never laid eyes on. A generation that they had no contact with. And I remember asking her how on earth someone could be that mean. I remember thinking to myself many times after we would talk, "How on earth can someone not talk to their own kid?"

And now I know.

The purpose of this article is not to cry about my life problems. It is not to complain about a family that I no longer have. It is not even to vent my frustrations, spout off about how angry I am, or question my faith in God, as to why He would allow this to happen. If this were a question on a college test, my answer would be None Of The Above.

The reason behind this article, the purpose of what I am writing about, and the story I am telling here is about one thing: Ensuring you keep your family close to you, making sure you never let the ones you love go, and taking every necessary step you can to keep your family as a part of your life.

But it is also to learn to accept the things you cannot change, let go of the problems you can't solve, and if you have tried with all of your heart and the person or people on the other end are so stubborn, immature and childish that they won't forgive (even if they can't forget), there comes a point and time that you need to pray about it, and then do one thing.

Don't quit trying.

I make it sound easy. But let me be honest. It's never easy. Imagine one day, you sit down with your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister, maybe a couple of siblings. And then the next day, you wake up, and you get the news.

They're gone.

They didn't die from a car accident. They didn't fall into a hole when an earthquake came. They didn't get blown away by a tornado. They didn't even drown due to a flood. i can thank God for that. But what makes it harder? Having no relationship when the entire family lives less than 45 minutes away.

Don't take anything for granted. Because for those of you that think family is forever? You may learn a lesson about something you won't ever learn about in a classroom in high school or college.

You are wrong.

If you have a disagreement with your family? Make it right. If you anger someone? Fix the problem. If you can't figure out how to make it right? Keep trying. And if you do get to the point where it's not able to be fixed? Leave it alone. Come back another time. Apologize. And try again.

There may come a time that you can't fix it. There may come a time when you have to accept it. There may come a time when you realize that it's not going to ever change. And at that point, all you can do is move forward and never look back. But what I recommend here? Don't ever let it get to that point. Because if you think that family is forever?

You are wrong.