We’re right in the middle of the holiday season. Thanksgiving just ended and the Christmas season is now fully underway. In our house this is a time to reconnect after everyone’s busy semester has ended. My older children come home from college, my younger children get a break from school, I get a break from teaching, and my husband gets to spend a few days away from the office.
When we reconnect, we often play inside games, like Taboo or Rento, or outside games like basketball, baseball, or spikeball. We crack jokes, we cook, we eat, and we pray. I love the time we spend together reconnecting as a family, and it means even more to me now that two of my four children are in college. When they come home, it’s because they’ve chosen home over the many other things they could have chosen to do, like spend holidays doing extra things at school, or work, or spending time with friends. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes they do a combination of those things, but when they choose to do them from my house as their home base, it still feels good.
You could be tempted not to connect with your family once you settle into your college routine, but I encourage you to resist that temptation. Staying connected to your family throughout your college journey yields benefits, such as having people in your life who have known you the longest to offer you constructive criticism without an ulterior motive.
Family isn’t always full of laughter and good times. Every family also experiences tragedy, failure, and disappointment. There’s no perfect family, but family is a perfect testing ground for the character God wants you to display as you grow roots in him. When your family isn’t being loving, you might be the o
ne to show them how to love at all times (Proverbs 17:17). When your family isn’t being hopeful, you might be the one who demonstrates hope, like the psalmist who said, “Yes, my soul. Find rest in God. My savior and my hope (Psalm 62:5). I hope that like mine, your family is a source of joy and strength for you, but if it isn’t I pray God would show you their proper role in your life and how to stay connected to them. I know he has a purpose for your family in your life.
