In today’s day and age, we are all so involved in self development that we often overlook the personal and social benefits of spirituality and faith. Faith is a needed element in our lives and plays an integral part in our sense of self. For many individuals, it provides structure built upon a solid foundation that nurtures them, and more importantly, their children, who are constantly exposed to a world that thrives on pandemonium. Today, family value continues to deteriorate rapidly as society spirals downward by our insatiable appetite for materialistic values. While it is important not to lose focus on providing a good economic future for your family, it is equally important to take a step back and understand that there is simply more to life. A balance needs to be established, whereby a healthy mix of spirituality and faith is woven into the fabric of our family life. Religion, customs, traditions, milestone events, holidays and social gatherings provide the structure that fosters stability and growth. Of course, we need to exercise moderation in maintaining this delicate balance between the spiritual and secular worlds, for an imbalance in either direction can be harmful to ones mental and physical health.
As a family, we enjoy sitting together at the dinner table several times a week, a luxury that most American families no longer value. It is an opportunity to express our ideas and discuss every topic under the sun. More importantly, it is an opportunity to express our concerns, problems or issues that may have been otherwise gnawing at us. With hectic schedules and challenging economic times, most parents cannot afford allocating substantial quality time to enjoy with their children, so it is absolutely essential to find a means to pass on customs and traditions that establish family values and link together generations of past and future.
These moments in time intensify when generations of young and old share in customs and traditions, especially during the holidays. There are so many fond memories of family gatherings around the holidays, where I recall reliving my childhood, while witnessing my children interact with their grandparents. Grandparents come alive as they too relive their youth through customs and traditions, which bring back a myriad of warm feelings they too experienced in years past. And so it goes, from parent to child, from grandparent to grandchild, from generation to generation.
Every weekend, I make it a point to study the Bible with my children and perform the customs and traditions that uniquely identifies us as individuals and as a family. We read and learn the meaning of these valuable passages that were bestowed upon us as a wonderful gift from above. We share stories, anecdotes and life’s experiences and expand on the morals and ethics that are being expressed through these passages preserved throughout time. We learn about the upcoming holidays, historical dates that commemorate major events, our culture and traditions as a people and the importance of putting words into practice. There is an incredible wealth of knowledge, mutual respect and a sense of fulfillment that comes as a result of this time we spend together. What is of greater value, is hearing your children make good judgment calls in tough moments in life and then crediting lessons from the Bible, which they had once learned with you as their source of inspiration.
I have personally witnessed my children thrive academically and socially. It is my strongest belief that all families can benefit and flourish if they can discover early on that family values is built upon a combination of many intricate facets of life, both spiritually and academically.
