I saw this quote
on an online poster (at
www.itsy.com)
that impressed me: Family: Links
to the Past and Bridges to the Future. We
have only to look to our past, the lives of our parents and grandparents to see
examples of honesty, hard work, integrity and unconditional love to understand
how to succeed in our modern day of computer games, social networks and ever
increasing busy-ness. Take time to consider your links to the past, pondering what was important to your ancestors. Modern
thinking is not always best. Time-tested
values are just that something to build a future on, a bridge to betterment.
In these days of challenges to the
traditional family, old fashioned values are important and need to be taught.
Bridges can be a link from the past to the future,
whatever difficulties it may hold. Let’s not dump our parent’s values, but
build upon them. It’s important to become the type of person that we’d want in
our family. Individuals that you can trust and rely upon. People that
have
your back no matter the situation. Families
should fit that need and most do. When push comes to shove, emergencies arise,
be they health issues or accidents, who can we turn to? Family should be first,
to share our burdens, and give us words of comfort. Many soldiers in their last
dying breath on the battlefield cried out for…Mother-their constant source of love from the past.
Take time to build
a bridge to the future with a phone call or better yet visiting a loved one
to reassure them of your concern and interest in their lives. Are there stories
from your posterity that you could share with your family members that
demonstrate this principle of unconditional love? I can recall, my family
rallying behind me when I was divorced and on my own as a single parent over 35
years ago. They became my cheerleaders, a resource to draw on for personal
strengthening. We all need connections no matter our age.
Many modern families are full of broken
bridges because of divorce, death or misunderstandings. It’s never too late to
reach out and repair links with our most important relationships with family.
Too many grudges are keeping us apart from our greatest resource for personal
growth. Hurt feelings come too easily by taking things personally rather than
trying to see beyond the immediate situation to what is most important.
Families! NEXT TIME: Repairing Bridges.
