That Family

{I wrote this at the beginning of October but for some reason never published it. A lot of this has quieted down since then, but there are still headlines about them often enough that I decided it's still relevant to post now.}


Are we done with the Duggars yet? Because this whole thing is exhausting. I'm tired of hearing about them, I'm tired of seeing the headlines. Please please let it just go away already. I have seen many wild opinions about all of this, from unquestioned support to complete hatred. The one strong opinion I have about this is that while many people are too quick to judge, many others are too quick to defend.

I'm a Christian, so I get the desire that other Christians have to defend the Duggars. We don't like when the media/public/internet trolls pick on any of our Christian family. But here's the thing. It is NOT OUR JOB to defend the Duggars. Just like everyone else who only has a dim picture of what really happened, we have no business telling others that they should stop picking on them and give them back their TV show. Like it or not, unfair or not, hateful or not, this family chose to become a reality TV family. Doing so comes with the whole enchilada of scrutiny about how you live your lives and raise your many kids. And I heart Michelle Duggar, don't get me wrong, but her doe-eyed innocence of what the outside world is really like is not my problem. This is a harsh way to learn that the world outside of your bubble has always thought you were fruitcakes, and now thinks you are terrible people.

I have no idea if Jim Bob and Michelle handled the situation correctly. I have no idea how I would have handled it were I in their situation. People always think they would do the right thing but many have never had to make a hard choice themselves. I'm by no means giving them a pass; they started filming their TV show within a few years of Josh's confession, and it doesn't seem like they gave any consideration that this could eventually come out. Why they chose to do this show is a mystery to me, because if they wanted to use it as a platform for the Gospel, they might want to actually mention Jesus on the show once in a while. I'm just saying.

As with any negative event in our own lives, God is no doubt using this to draw the Duggars closer to Him as they go through a very public refining process. My prayer is simply that God's will would be done in this family.