Family business, both bitter and sweet

Exodus 15:22-25

Last week I wrote about the Israelites’ celebration with song after escaping from the Egyptians and crossing the sea. They had survived death and drowning, but it didn’t take long for the Isrealites to need — and grumble about — a different kind of water:

Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. (Exodus 15:22-25)

In three days the Israelites had gone from praising God for their survival, to grumbling about the lack of water. What had been a threat just days before in the form of an uncrossable sea was now a necessity to sustain life. Facing the dilemma of bitter water, Moses called on the Lord, and something unexpected happenned: instead of immediately solving the problem, God directed Moses to throw a log in the water. It worked, making the water safe to drink.

Being in business with family can at times be a blessing, a “sweet water” sustaining your personal and professional life. You see your parents and children every day, experience a high degree of trust, with the ability to make long-term investments to foster a legacy important to future generations. But the family business can also, at times, feel like a curse: a “bitter water” in which you may experience perpetual conflict, with low trust, an inability to change, while feeling trapped, stuck, or smothered. Just like the Israelites, we can find ourselves on either side, feeling both joy and desperation, depending on the context. And in those times of difficulty, you might find help from an unexpected source — your version of Moses’ log — that makes your experience sweet again.

Have you experienced both the pros and the cons of being in a family business? Have you ever found help from an unexpected source, helping you move past the grumbling, to change the bitter to the sweet in your family business?