Character Traits

During our formative years, beginning in infancy and ending when we finally fly the coop, we are shaped by our family. The choices we make as adults are strongly influenced by how we were raised. 

When we take the time to regard our childhoods instead of disregarding them, then we can understand why we make the choices we make. And when necessary, we can choose to make more thoughtful choices.

I have six siblings with six different personalities. Though I know about personality inventories, just by observation, I know that some of my siblings are more introverted while others tend to be more extroverted. Some are more reactive and impulsive while others are more responsive and cautious. Some go with their gut feeling when making a decision while others do the research and go with the data. All in all, our personalities have an interesting range of being dramatic, soft hearted, passionate, elusive, creative, opinionated, merciful, and confrontational. 

I’ve often wondered how in the world we could come from the same set of parents and yet be such unique individuals. But then I turn to one of the Psalms and read, “My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery]. (Psalm 139:16 Amplified)

My siblings and I are a variety of colors because I believe that before anyone else knew us, God took care to color our lives a particular color.

But even though our personalities vary among us, my siblings and I share some of the same character traits. Those character earmarks reflect our values which were instilled in us by our parents. 

Our parents were morally intelligent. They modeled within their daily lives what they stood for; honesty, integrity, truthfulness, conscientiousness, purposefulness, and personableness. 

Here is the really cool thing about the different personalities among my siblings and me. Though we share the same character trademarks of our parents, we display them in our own colorful way. 

The dramatic, soft hearted, passionate, elusive, creative, opinionated, merciful, and confrontational individuals that make up my family display honesty, integrity, truthfulness, conscientiousness, purposefulness, and personableness in their own unique way. Though no two of us are the exact same in our personalities, our moral character is indisputable.  

Why Bother?

Why bother regarding character traits? Our character traits display our values and our values shine through our unique personalities.

P.S.  I wrote the story of my journey to forgiveness because realizing that we need to forgive someone is a journey.  You can find A Heart’s Journey To Forgiveness at Redemption Press and Amazon.