The Importance of Family and Friends

Our Family is Part of our Support Team

For some, family is the most important thing in life. For others, it is not a priority. For many, family is important but the responsibilities of life can be overwhelming. I have seen studies where they attach microphones to small children and the average time that some fathers spend talking to their children is less than two minutes a day! Many people have also grown up in broken families or been raised by single parents and may have no idea of what healthy family life actually is. Whatever your situation, I encourage you to build your family in whatever ways that you can. You will be happy you did.

Friends –Finishing Off Our Team

We need good friends for many reasons: for support, encouragement, acceptance and just to have fun! Friends can supply a listening ear, loving advice and stability over time. We also often do the things our friends do. This is why it is important to have friends that have great values and goals in life. We will either soar like eagles or wallow through the mud with our friends. Choose your friends wisely. God built us for relationship with Him and with people. We need both. God has a great destiny for us, but we need a team around us that will help us reach that destiny. Life has risks and challenges. The greater the team we surround ourselves with, the more positive risks we will be willing to take and the greater challenges we will be able to overcome. Wounded Heart p. 95

When we invest in our family and friends, the payback is huge. Friends and family also can meet so many of our social needs and support and encourage us in both good and bad times. I have had to learn what it means to build a strong family and to stay connected with good people. Our culture can make both difficult but that means that we should focus on it more than ever!

Prayer: Jesus, help me to build solid life giving relationships with both family and friends. Teach me how to do this and how to change or break unhealthy relationships in my life. I pray this in Jesus name - amen!