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"Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten."

Who would ever forget that line from the movie Lilo and Stitch. If you haven't shed a tear while mesmerizing the deep meaning that the movie wants to impart, I could say you are a rock.

A family is the smallest unit of the society. As small as it is, it forms the bonds that bridge the gaps in each member as well as it links itself to the whole society. It involves itself to issues that would affect the welfare of the members as well as the environment where they belong. However, these are just the definitions of a family in a superficial sense. These are what we could see in the dictionaries and political writings. But a family has more to give than being a social unit. It has better meaning than being involved in social, political and environmental issues.

As what is stated in the movie Lilo and Stitch, a family means being together. It means unity. Each individual is different from the other. They have characteristics that may differ since they are separate individuals but the family is something they have in common for them to humble themselves and submit to what would benefit each member, thus, to promote unity in times of diversity.

A family respects the individuality of the members but promotes an environment to compensate for these differences and therefore uplift the lesson of being together in times of life's challenges. There is no "I", "me" or "you" in a family's vocabulary since everything has to be "we" and us." Decisions and plans are made with a big consideration on the welfare of each member.

A family means being there when someone is down or is in rough times. It provides a support system to provide encouragement in times of fear, to lit a spark of hope in times of sadness and it is there to extend a helping hand in times of sorrow. It serves as a shoulder to cry on to its members when things are not the way they should be.

The family provides the material needs of the members. It provides a house to shelter the members from the forces of nature that would harm the health and the physical aspects of the members. It provides food for the hungry stomachs. It provides a haven to rest on to the tired working members. It provides the comfort to the weary minds.

I remember when I was in grade school. There was a time when we were suffering from economic crisis. My parents that time were in debt and we don't even have something to eat on the table. As hard and pitiful as it may seem, my mother mixed soy sauce and oil with salt and poured it over the rice and it helped us through one family dinner. This is what family means. The parents would always find ways so as not to get the children from starving. Family means providing not just the emotional needs of the members but also their basic material needs.

The family is the sole witness to the issues and circumstances that the members had been through. It has witnessed the joys and laughters. It has witnessed love and devotion within the family. However, it has also witnessed the misunderstandings of the parents and the children. It has witnessed how the behavior of the children changed as they grow. It has witnessed the heartaches and sorrows. But despite these things, it has inculcated in each member the reason to open themselves to forgiveness, to unity, and to love that cures all the negative things that would step inside their home.

A family lives in a house called home. A home means living together with love as the binding factor. It means living with compassion and forgiveness. It means selfless offering of oneself for the benefit of everybody. It means providing comfort in times of sorrow.

God made the family. It is a medium for Him to show how much He loves us, how much He wanted us to feel that we are loved. It is one of the greatest gifts that He had given to us for us to succeed in our spiritual life. It is a medium that He used to nurture us and prepare us to be His good servants.

A family, as small as it can be, would always be one of the reasons why we live. It is our source of strength in times of trouble. It is our hope in times of despair. It is one of God's chosen ways to show his love for mankind.