Family

If we can change our perspective from all the trouble to the blessings we can see what a gift this time can be for family. It may not seem like it at the moment, it’s definitely not easy, and clearly this is not the way anyone ever imagined their last few weeks might be. Going from busy societies to standstill around the world. Our go, go, go has stop, stop, stopped!

There is a renewal that is happening to our families around the world. I can’t help but wonder if this crisis has revealed that the family unit, in so many ways, has become socially distant and disconnected. Maybe that is why God has called us all into our homes to stay together isolated for just a little while...

The sports have stopped, schools have stopped, vacations have stopped, shopping has stopped, distractions have stopped. Time, that is what we have. Time and family. I’m not making light, I know it’s hard, parents are stressed and kids are frustrated but if we can shift our focus and see the blessing, this could possibly be the very thing that changes our families in an even greater way. We are stronger together.

Colossians 3:13 “Bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

Eventually society will open again and people return to work, school, and activities. This is not a permanent situation. It’s overwhelming, yes. It’s frustrating, true. It’s hard, absolutely. But it is a gift of time to heal and strengthen our families if we will just shift our focus and let God show us how.



I pray, that of the seeds planted during this global pandemic, that a restored and renewed sense of family will be the harvest. I pray that when our children tell their children about this, their stories will be of how awesome it was to be home, to all be together, that they remember this extra time not as scary and tragic, but as a gift. We as parents can determine the direction of our families walk through this. I pray that the peace of God overwhelms us that we can focus on simply loving one another and take this gift of time to grow in our families.

Colossians 3:15 “ let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

Photo credit: Island Encounters Photography, Fiji