“So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.”
—Genesis 37:28 NLT

Have you ever felt like you were born into the wrong family? That the experiences of your childhood were holding you back from realizing your full potential?

Meet Joseph. We don’t have time to get into all the gritty details, but let it suffice to say that his family was very dysfunctional.

Joseph was the eldest son of his father’s favorite wife (he had children with four different women) and was therefore the preferred child. His older brothers hated him for it, and eventually they sold him into slavery because of their jealousy, expecting to never see him again.

Joseph had dreamed of greatness as a child. I mean, actual prophetic dreams given to him by God.

And yet he found himself in a situation where it seemed nearly impossible that he would ever see those dreams fulfilled.

If you are familiar with Joseph’s story, you will know that God both fulfilled and surpassed his wildest dreams. But he chose to do it through a much less-than-ideal path.

Because that’s how God works: he writes his best stories in the worst circumstances.

Take heart: the Imperfect Nativity and the story of Joseph teach us that neither a dysfunctional family nor the most unfortunate life events can hinder God from writing an incredible story in your life.

Here’s a simple prayer to carry with you today:

Breathe in: God of dysfunctional families,
Breathe out: Write your story in me.