Christmas is a busy time of the year. There are parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, and lots and lots of shopping. Many believe it’s not the most wonderful time of the year. However, Christmas offers a great opportunity to rekindle relationships with family and grow close with those we love the most.
The family is the backbone of society. If the family is dysfunctional or injured, society will be dysfunctional and hurt as well. Many of the world’s problems stem from people who grew up in bad families. If we examine many societal issues, including tragic events like school shootings, we often notice a pattern of broken family relationships. Too often, parents ignore their kids and simply place them in front of electronic devices. Many times, parents allow their kids unfiltered access to the internet too early and without providing them with the knowledge they need to safely navigate it. Just as we wouldn’t hand a child car keys without teaching them to drive, we shouldn’t give them unfiltered access to the digital super highway without guidance.
Children get anxious about many things, and it’s up to us as parents to tell them what’s truly important in life. We must consistently remind them to keep God as the center of their lives and that true fulfillment doesn’t come from popularity, wealth, or fleeting trends. Kids get bullied too often, and that can lead them to depression or cause them to seek to change themselves because people are telling them they are not pretty enough, strong enough, or popular enough. God made us in His image, and there is something great and special about each of us.
We’re all ultimately destined to be with our true Father in Heaven. However, having good relationships with our Earthly family can help us get there. We don’t get to pick our family, but we should try to love them as best as we can. Parents’ love for their children emulates the love of God the Father, and children’s love of their parents shows humanity’s love towards God. Spousal love beautifully reflects the love between Christ and His bride, the Church.
This Christmas season, let’s try to remember the importance of family. If parents don’t teach their children about God and impart the Christian faith to them, we will see a rise in a faithless generation. When meeting Santa is more important than meeting Jesus and getting material things is more important than giving ourselves to others, we will see more violence, anger, and depression. Our children will help shape the future, but we are the ones that will help shape them.
Take time to call home to your Heavenly Father and check in with Mary, your Mother. The more we recognize their voices, the easier it will be to follow them. We all should desire to make it home to Heaven when our Earthly journey is complete. Our parents watch over us and hope we make it home. They have a feast waiting for us, but just as we can’t do everything for our kids, they can’t as well. We need to take the initiative and do what it takes to make it home.
