Strengthening Family Relationships Through Showing Charity

parenting • strengthening family relationships

by Heather A. Johnson on November 29th, 2016 | No Comments »

Family life is busy. There are constant responsibilities to take care of, general needs to attend to, and plans to make and fulfill. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of it all it becomes easier to reach out and show charity to neighbors and strangers than to our own families.

Serving others is a vital part of life, but serving our own families is important as well. Among other benefits, it builds a strong foundation of love and trust that will keep a family stable and united when challenges arise.

Showing charity to family members can look a little different than the charity shown to neighbors, strangers, and others in need.

Showing Charity to Family

Say “I Love You”

This is easy to say when you are hanging up the phone, walking out the door, or even putting kids in bed. But we need to say “I Love You” at other times too. On a random Tuesday, just because, for no apparent reason tell your family you love them. The simple act of saying the words helps open our hearts to serving others.

STOP—See Their Perspective

One of the best ways to show charity to family members is to STOP, just for a moment, and see things from their perspective. A few seconds is all it takes. What better way to show charity, than to be willing to understand those we love. Seeing their perspective will change our actions and thoughts and turn our hearts towards them.

Follow Through

There is nothing worse than saying you will do something, and then not following through. In family life we are not talking about huge jobs and closing deals. We are talking about the little things. Did we tell the kids that they could go to the library on Tuesday? Then we need to take them. Did we promise a game of Candy Land after dinner? Then we need to play. One of the greatest ways to serve our families is to do what we say. It shows them that they matter the most, that we care about them, and that they can trust us.

Really Listen

Don’t listen with the TV on while you are doing a million other things. Especially as mothers, it is easy to try and listen while we multitask the laundry, dinner, a phone call, and Pinterest. Want to show charity to our families? Put it all down and really listen. Look them in the eyes, at their level, without trying to guess what they will say next, or pushing an agenda. Instead of thinking what you want your kids to do next, really listen to what happened on the playground. Put yourself in their shoes and “hear” them. What a great way to serve them. Really listen to them.

Charity in family life is founded on the everyday acts of patience and love. Looking outside ourselves, and seeing beyond the chores and carpool will help us really "see" those we are serving. And help our love grow even stronger.

Family Member of the Month Printable

In an effort to celebrate each family member in your home during the year, here is a free printable. This will help you organize which family member you will feature each month, and ways you can show love and kindness to them.

To download this free printable, click here.

For access to the "Becoming a Super Hero Family: Charity" ebook or the whole "Becoming a Super Hero Family" eBook series, go here.

What you doing to show Charity in your family?

Heather Johnson, M.S., teaches students the principles behind successful families at Brigham Young University. You can find her online at FamilyVolley.com, and connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.