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March 11, 2006

The Gospel According to The Roloffs

medium_the_roloffs.jpgSome of you who have followed this blog for a while may remember my "Gospel According to Earl Hickey" post. I decided to continue the series "The Gospel of..."


Meet The Roloff family. They're a typical American family living in suburban Oregon. Matt and Amy Roloff are the proud parents of four kids: twin sons Jeremy and Zach (15), Molly (12), and Jacob (8). Matt has lived what would seem to be a dream life. He was a rising salesman for some of the top software companies in the Silicon Valley, he has a meaningful marriage, four wonderful kids, and a gigantic 34-acre farm complete with a western town, pirate ship, and underground passageways for the kids to have a fun and anything-but-mundane childhood.


There's just one thing: Matt and Amy are both "little people." Standing at four feet tall, Matt and Amy have risen above what many of us would consider incredible odds to secure a "normal" life in a world that's not always kind to people who are different. Matt suffers from a condition (one that's related to his height) that affects his neurology and is forced to use crutches to get from one place to the other. What's worse is that when his well-to-do employer laid him off a couple of years ago, housewife Amy was forced to take on two jobs to help support the family.


TLC has recently launched the reality television show "Little People, Big World," which features the Roloff family as they experience life with financial stress, raising four kids (three of whom are teenagers), and jobs that aren't always fun. If this sounds like most American families, it's because it IS like most American families.


I admit, the premise is what first attracted my wife and me to this show, but after watching ten minutes of it, we realized that this was like watching any other family we had ever known...if those families happened to be four feet tall. The stories of Zach and Jeremy, the twins that most people would never believe (Jeremy is an average height teenager while Zach, like his mom and dad, happens to be a little person, standing less than four feet tall himself.) are captivating and I'll admit, make me miss youth ministry in a lot of ways.


The neat thing about this amazing and inspiring family is that they've never let their "disadvantages" stop them from fulfilling a life of possibilities and accomplishment. They have something far greater than height: they have each other. They stand by each other (with Jeremy, Molly, and eight-year-old Jacob being average height) no matter what each of them face. And one look at the program and you'll agree, it's definitely inspiring and causes you to look at your life differently.


Am I complaining about things I can't do anything about in my life, and thus, allowing those complaints to hold me back? Or can I use my inspiration from this family and know that life is what I make it and work as hard as it may take for me to get there? Those are some interesting things to think about. And the Roloffs have posed the questions. Thanks, Roloff family.

22:30 Posted in The Gospel of... | Permalink | Comments (4) | Email this | Tags: Christian

Comments

I like the Roloffs too. I happened to catch the show one night and was hooked. Their family seems so lovable and fun.

Posted by: Cassie | March 16, 2006

I love watching "Little People, Big World"! Two Saturday's ago, when watching the hit reality show, I noticed that when Zack Roloff was on his computer, he was logged onto myspace. He said so himself that he was signed onto myspace. Does anyone know his link or Jeremy's link to myspace (or xanga)? Let me know if you do, and send it to me at bebeisurfriend@yahoo.com. Or if you know what highschool they attend, that would be pretty helpfull too. I am in love with that show...and Zack.

Posted by: Rebecca | March 26, 2006

Hey what's the name of the farm again that the Roloff family lives on? SunnyPeaches or something like that? I can't remember...even though I just watched LittlePeopleBigWorld last night. Thanks.

Posted by: Rebecca | March 26, 2006

molly goes to faith bible school,but i'm not sure where the boys go.
they live on roloff farms.peach heaven is the fruit stand where they sell their fruits and peaches and pumpkins.
respecting their privacy,i would write to the tlc network and have them forward letters to the boys or family.but thats just me.
if you go to google.com and type in roloff farms,you can click on to a site that has their address and phone number.but you didnt hear this from me !!! ok rebecca no stalking...just kidding.im sure you can write to the tlc channel and theyd forward cards or letters.
matt the father, was in star wars episode vi;return of the jedi.he was an ewok character,with a cane.as in his real life,he walks with crutches.he also wrote a book,entitled,AGAINST ALL ODDS;BEING A DAVID IN A GOLIATH WORLD.

Posted by: chalo | April 08, 2006