Love

Bring More Love into Your Family

posted by Chris Valentine
Do you want to Bring More Love into Your Family?

Photo by CC user usdagov on Flickr

When you look at your family, do you smile from ear to ear?

While the answer to that question is hopefully a yes, many families look at their own situations as at best average. They would love to say that their home life is as great as it can get, but they know deep down that is not the truth.

In the event you find yourself looking for a better life for you and your loved ones, where do you start?

The hard facts are that some families just are not destined for a lifetime of happiness.

From varying personalities to being apart for long periods of time, they can just never seem to get on the same page. With that being the case, they slowly drift apart over time.

If your family is growing more apart over time, would you like to bring more love into it?

Show Those You Love How Much You Really Care

If having closer ties with your family members is important to you, where do you begin?

In many instances, it all starts with someone having the initiative to reach out to others in the household.

One example of this would be getting the family together for a reunion, most notably immediate family members.

Yes, there may very well be some difference amongst the clan, but are they differences that have to keep you apart for years to come? Maybe it is simply a misunderstanding between two or more members of the group, a misunderstanding that got blown way out of proportion.

In a speech last September to bishops in Vatican City, Pope Francis focused on pastoral attention to families.

Stop for a moment and think about the attention you as an individual give your family. If you’re not doing your part, then it is time to think about how you can do more.

Among the areas to focus in on:

  • Time together – First and foremost, do you spend enough time together as a family unit? In today’s digital age, many families can’t use the excuse that they’re hundreds or thousands of miles apart, therefore they have no opportunity to get together. While that can be true much of the time in the physical sense, technology has made it much easier in recent years for families to connect, especially for those having moved away from loved ones. Have you considered using Face Time, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Skype and many other online platforms for communication? If not, certainly consider doing so moving ahead;
  • Resolving differences – Some families fight and come apart at the seams over the silliest of things. For instance, did you have a spat with a loved one over the recent loss of a parent? If so, stop for a moment and think about your deceased parent. Would they want the two of you to go on in such a manner? In many cases, the answer to that question would be no. If there’s been a divorce in the family, that doesn’t automatically mean you can’t stay friendly with members of the other family that were part of yours for years. Yes, you might have to put your pride and/or ego aside for a period of time (perhaps the rest of your life), but it may very well prove worth it in the end.

No Two People are Alike

  • Opposites attract – You’ve likely heard the old metaphor that opposites attract, yes? While that is certainly not true all in cases, many families do get along (quite well in fact) despite having varying personalities spread throughout. Always look for all the different things you can share as family members, not those that ultimately would separate you. For some families, going to church is something that they all love to do as a unit. Others find going out for a family meal once a week to be a good time to bring everyone together. Still others may set aside a day or night out at the ballpark during the summer for some baseball fun. While there is nothing wrong with having civil differences in a family, don’t let them get to the point where they tear the unit apart. Keeping your personality is fine, just so you make sure to respect those with different ones.

If bringing more love into your immediate family unit (parents, kids, grandparents, in-laws etc.) is on your to-do list, get going today.

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