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Seven Ways to Celebrate Family When Times Are Hard
By Omitunde Slack Published: 05/09/2009
Family Reunions will be extra special this year with so much to celebrate! Yes we do have a lot to celebrate because we have all been through some tough times financially and all we have left is to cherish our family ties.
Everyone is holding it together the best way they can by cutting back and making adjustments in the way we live. We can't take anything for granted anymore!
Jobs disappear, companies downsize and even close, people have lost their homes and unemployment is not making ends meet.
Well what is there to celebrate?
The reason to celebrate our family values and connections is the reason why we work to have a life that we can share with someone. The most important someone is family. Why do we want to survive? It is all about family, whether it's a blood relation or a family connection created out of circumstance.
Unless you are living in this world completely alone and isolated from everyone, your reason for living is for your family.
Sure they drive you nuts and get on your bad side more often than you want to admit, hell they may even be completely dysfunctional and you must ask yourself, "isn't it great that somebody loves you?"
We all desire to be loved and cherished by someone because we do not live in this world alone. We come from a family, a group of people that ties us to this existence here in this world. Nothing can replace or duplicate that.
So what can we do to celebrate if there is an economic crisis and we have lost almost everything?
We can become creative and discuss different ways of connecting even if we cannot be together in the same place. Here are some suggestions;
1. Make group phone calls, on specific days every week with a different group of family members. Hearing each other's voice and getting caught up is soothing and strengthens the connection.
2. Utilize technology through online cameras and programs like Skype to stay in touch and see each other's face. Seeing each other's face gives you some comfort that the persons you don't see frequently are really okay.
3. Join a site to exchange pictures and other information about events like births, school projects, birthdays, anniversaries, travel photos, awards, etc. Keeping up with the events in your daily lives helps the miles to disappear.
4. Set times to pray together and be of the same mind for the safe keeping and well-being of your families. Send out an email to each other that you would like to be in prayer with them at a set time of the day.
5. When a family member is ill and cannot travel, put your money together and send the one family member that is available to go to visit that person. A visit from a family member when there is a health crisis or any crisis is comforting and healing to the Spirit.
6. Write letters or send cards, not electronic cards, real paper and pen letters or cards written by you. The onslaught of technology had made us lazy about writing and using snail mail. It is still a great feeling to get a letter in the mail.
7. Send actual pictures in the mail of the children and of yourself. Everything is on the computer nowadays and it is not the same as having an actual picture to display with the family group of pictures that you will see every day. This keeps the people you love close to you because you think of them whenever you see the picture.
There are alternatives to having a family reunion if a lack of finances is the issues or being able to travel is a hindrance to getting everyone together.
It is vitally important to keep family ties strong all the time and especially when times are tough. Don't try to carry your burdens all alone, that is what family is for to share the load.
Cherish you family even if they are far away.
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