From The Pastor’s Pen – By Brian Horrobin
I came across a terrific quote on Facebook some while back that said, “Don’t let the funeral director host your next family reunion. Love your family and be involved while they are still living.”
As a pastor I am in the funeral home a fair bit to meet with families at their time of loss.
A phrase that I hear repeated frequently between some family members goes something like this: “It’s really great seeing you after all this time, Fred. I wish we connected more often. It seems the only time this many members of the family get together is at weddings and funerals.”
You’ve likely said something similar, and so have I.
We live busy lives and generally ‘go with the flow’ of our frenetic pace and relegate relationships to a lower priority.
In some cases it is not a matter of any sort of rift separating family members, but rather more of a gentle drifting apart.
The purpose of a family reunion is to gather our relatives together intentionally so that we can catch up on each other’s lives.
I realize distance and time play a major factor in why we don’t nurture these relationships more, but that is still no excuse for out and out neglect.
Going for a coffee isn’t too tough, and if distance is the main culprit for absenteeism in relationships then there is always FaceTime or a simple telephone call.
The bottom line is there is going to be an investment of time involved.
Is that a price you are willing to pay?
