How Do You Show Love to Your Family?

Strong families often share words of appreciation and acts of love. One of the greatest ways to show love is to spend time with loved ones. We are all busy in our individual lives. We often rush around dealing with work and other responsibilities and then have little time or energy left for family members. It is important that we make the time to strengthen our family. When families are strong, they add strength to their community, state, and nation.

I have six children who are all upstanding members of their communities. They have created outstanding families, and I am proud of them for their accomplishments and who they have become. My children enjoy being together, and they have so much fun together that I often feel left out of the picture. I do not expect them to spend excessive amounts of time with me, but I appreciate knowing what is happening in their lives and in the lives of their children.

I recently attended the wedding and reception of my oldest granddaughter. I appreciated being a part of the occasion and seeing her so happy. I know that my children and grandchildren love me. However, I was saddened when I had little opportunity to visit with each of my children for a few minutes. I was particularly sad because I live far away from most of them and see them only once or twice each year.

In pondering my situation, I thought of Heavenly Father. He knows that I love Him, just as I know that my children love me. However, I do not always make the time to have meaningful visits with Him each day. I am certain that He wants me to share what is happening in my life and how I feel about it. He wants me to share my plans for each day and then to report to Him on how my day went even though He already knows. I feel certain that He is a little saddened by my busyness and outright avoidance of Him at times.

I encourage all of us to make the time to invest in the important relationships in our lives. There are many significant people in our lives, and we may not have time to sit and chat with each of them every day. However, I hope that we make the time to show love to our loved ones and to strengthen our families by doing so. It is only through strong families that our communities, states, and nations can become strong.