The word family holds many different meanings. There are those that are blood relations which we call family and there are friends which we consider as family. There is also the family that you marry into. There are a variety of meanings to the word which cannot be defined in a few words. Here are some of the definitions for family:
Blood Relations
Blood relations are the first definition of family. You may not have chosen them, but it is what you have. These are the first people that you know simply because you were born to them. You learn to love these people because you have to rely on them. Without them, you have nothing else.
You rely on this type of family for many things. They feed you and put a roof over your head. There are those in your bloodline that you would probably choose not to know under other circumstances. Dysfunctional families can include things such as alcoholism or drug abuse. None of these things matter because that is who you were given without a choice.
Most people love their families no matter what the circumstances. Our blood family are those that have protected us from harm, kept us safe and warm and made sure we had our bellies full of food. How could you not love someone who did that for you?
Circumstances vary but there is usually at least one family member that you try to avoid as much as possible. We also would do anything to protect them if the need be. You may say what you like about your family because it is yours. No one else can enter that domain. Blood relations will almost always win out over that of others. These are family ties that generally cannot be broken, although many will try. This is what God gave you to work with.
Friends
As we grow older we adopt outsiders as family. Those outsiders (non-blood relations) are called friends. Friends are those that we choose to spend our time with. Good friends become more like family. These are the people that you trust much more than you trust your blood relations. Friends probably know much more about you than your blood relatives do. That is because they are your choice. If you had been given a choice of who you would like to be related to, it would be those that are your friends.
These are the people that you call in the middle of the night because you had something you "just have to tell" them. You choose to spend time with them because they are fun. These are also the people that will stand true to you to the end. It won't matter if you are right or wrong, these people will back you up on it.
Friends relate to each other on a higher level. A friend knows better what to say to you when you are feeling down than any other people in the world. Friends don't ask if they can have something to drink and don't wait to be offered one. They will go to the refrigerator and take care of it themselves. Anyone that can freely open you refrigerator and get something out is family.
In-laws
You chose the person that you married. However, there are others that come along with him/her. You are back to the beginning. You didn't choose these other people. They simply come attached. They offer you pieces of advice that you didn't really want in the first place. You accept them as though they were your blood relations though. This is part of the deal when you say "I do". Sure, you are nice to them. You have to be to keep the family peace. You are attached to them for a very long time so you may as well make the best of it. If you are very fortunate, you will feel as though you are family. If you don't at first, you will find that no matter what, you become attached to them. This in itself makes them family.
Co-Workers
You spend more time with the people that you work with than you do anyone else. That is why it is important to create a family like atmosphere. In fact, you will feel as though they are family. The family type of bickering often goes on in the workplace. You become very attached to these people because you spend so much time together.
There are many types of families and a hundred ways to define them. It is all about how you feel about those that surround you. Family is the basis of life. You don't have to be related by blood to someone in order to call them family. All you need is a little more room in your heart to accept and treat them as such.