Time you will never lose…
Like never before, society is desperate for FAMILY!
This is the purpose for which God calls His children. When God called Abraham, He not only told Him He’d bless him. The Lord took it a step further, “and in you, all of the nations of the earth will be blessed.” When God brings a couple together, He is not just thinking about the two individuals, but in the generations that will come as the fruit of their union.
I am thankful for my parents’ lives, because, although they have always been very involved in ministry, they never put family aside. I have many memories of our family spending time together on vacation, eating out, laughing. Thanks to what they taught us, we can give the same to our children.
The foundation for family is friendship. It’s so important to desire to spend time together and learn to enjoy every moment.
There’s one thing every relationship needs to grow, time. The way we spend our time usually reveals our priorities. Do you want to know how valuable your family is for you? Evaluate how much time you dedicate to them.
Along with my husband, we are pastors in the city of Miami. Weekends tend to be our busiest days with the most work; trainings, meetings, sermon preparations, ministering in church, calling disciples, etc. We add the different needs and responsibilities to our schedule as they come. We both love working in the ministry. We love leading intercessions, studying the Word and teaching it, spending time with our disciples and facing the challenges that come with doing this work.
Even so, we have determined two things:
- Involve our kids in the activities of the ministry. We teach them that we love them and they are important to us, but that above our love for them is our love for God. For this reason, if we have cell group and have not been able to find someone to watch the kids, we take them with us. Church is a priority on Sundays, we never miss an activity at church because of the kids’ extra-curricular activities. We also teach them about our love for God when we pray and worship together. These are principles taught better by example than with words.
- Set a day to spend time with the family. At the moment, our family day is Friday. We try to give priority to our children, whether it’s going to the park or a trip to the museum. They are our focus on Fridays, and through these quality times we are cultivating friendship and trust.
In their book, Daddy’s Home, Greg Johnson and Mike Yorker share a few DON’Ts in regards to building relationships with our children. Allow me to share them with you:
- Don’t have a soccer match on T.V while you are playing Monopoly together.
- Don’t read the newspaper (or watch the news) when you’re helping with algebra homework.
- Don’t step out into the field to practice your golf swing and make your kids collect your golf balls at the end.
- Don’t suggest a sweet afternoon nap on Sunday afternoon.
- Don’t take them to the office on Saturday and give them a coloring book while you work.
Investing time in our family and sowing the best in our children are seeds that will bear fruit in their character and in our future generations.
