The most important people in your life are your family, yet sometimes we don't always live life as if they were. We tend to hide behind our busy careers, endless bills and tireless ventures all at the expense of building a thriving relationship with our family.
God has always had a special agenda for the family. He designed it to be the central unity of society. He often used, blessed and called people through their family in the Bible. God values your family dearly, but do you?
Here are seven dangerous signs that you aren't giving enough time to your family as you should be.
1. You're Barely Present in the Events of Your Kids and Spouse
When's the last time you attended a soccer game or accompanied your wife to dinner with her friends' families? If you can't recall when you did it last, you're not doing it enough and should get them in your calendars soon.
2. Holidays Are Spent Working Overtime
Holidays and Sabbaths are perfect times to get realigned not just with the self but with key relationships. Aside from our relationship with God, another relationship we should grow in as we rest is our relationship with family members.
3. Family Time Doesn't Appear on Your Calendar
We all know how quickly those calendars fill up, but if we don't become deliberate in entering some time slots with our kids and spouses on a regular basis, they will never happen.
4. You Don't Go on Dates With Your Spouse Anymore
Date nights might not be everything, but they matter to your spouse and even to you. We all know how important communication and spending time with one another are, but still those date nights just keep getting bumped off. Time to stop postponing them and making them just as, or even more, important than meetings with your boss.
5. You Can't Name Five to Seven of Your Kid's Favourites
What's your children's favourite colour, food, basketball team, toy, movie, or Bible character? It may not necessarily feel like much, but it's a good sign that you are taking the time to deliberately get to know your children more.
6. Your Kids and Spouse Are Too Afraid to Cry Out for Your Attention
We often think that if our family needs us then they'll tell us. Maybe they've told us before, but we were too agitated to listen and respond in action. As a result, they might be too afraid now to ask or even feel hopeless that it will ever happen.
7. You Don't Remember When You Had a Family Outing Last
I never really thought of vacations and family days out as an investment until I had my own family. Now, I see it as valuable as any other investment we make.
