When You're Here, You're Family

We’re all familiar with the Olive Garden slogan, but in a world that is increasingly technology-based, often the one place where we should feel like family—the home—is a place of separation. For instance, in my home, it’s not uncommon to find me in the living room watching TV and/or working on my laptop, my husband in the office on his desktop, and my stepson, KJ, in his room on his laptop/phone/gaming device du jour. And I know we’re not alone. In today’s world, we cling to our various entertainments, often at the expense of cultivating our relationships.

My two guys checking out the functions
on KJ's new camera back in August 2009

My husband and I were just discussing a change in this scenario, inspired by last night’s dinner. We typically eat in front of the TV (I know, not the best habit), so when KJ suggested that we spend that time sharing what the day was like for each of us, I was both caught off guard and proud of his insightful idea. Dinner is one of the few times we’re all together in one space, and so that time should be used catching up with one another. It was fun sharing and interacting together, and I look forward to continuing what I hope to be a new family tradition. It’s so important, in our technology-driven lives, to make the effort to nurture our relationships, which really should be what count the most.

All this thinking about family led me to thoughts of Mosaic Family Church. One of the great things about Mosaic is that we don’t just get together on Sundays with a “See you in a week” attitude. We eat together, pray together, go to the park together and sometimes cry together. We watch each other’s kids and proofread each other’s papers. We’re family.

Whether it’s in my house or in the House of God, I’m planning to work on what’s most important: building and maintaining my relationships.
~Monita B.