By Karen Y. Stevens

Family Reunions…You’re probably thinking that I’m referring to us meeting in heaven.  No, I’m referring to those rituals that we do once a year, to stay connected to our family.

Family gives you a sense of belonging, and not being alone in the world, whether you like your family or not.  My husband’s family and mine, both hold yearly reunions.

David’s family has his reunions in Texas.  My family reunions can be in California, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, and about 10 other states.  This year it is in Tennessee.  Both, my husband and I, have been trying to work out the details; the place we will stay, when we are going, taking off work, and the list goes on.

Since this is only once a year, it is worth it.

I have been painting a picture for my Brother’s new house, and it’s not normally something I would paint.  He likes barns, fields, trees, and his wife likes Kerosene lanterns.  I don’t normally paint barn scenes, so it’s taking me a lot longer to complete.

You are probably asking, “what does this have to do with each other?”

It’s the time we take, to dedicate to something we want to do.  But, on the other hand, we need to figure out ways to make mundane task, enjoyable.

I think the reason why we get worn out on our spiritual life, is because it is a daily thing.  Repetition puts us to sleep.  We become jaded, bored, and disinterested.  I have found, if one day I read a Devotional, the next day a Christian self-help book, the next day the Bible, the next day I might listen to a Youtube pastor that I like, etc.  If I keep changing it up, I don’t get stuck in a rut.

There are those of you, who love the same structure every day, repeatedly, and that is fantastic.  If you are like me, and struggle with repetition, you might want to try changing it up.  Relationship Therapist suggest looking out for tell-tale signs of marriage boredom, which first on the list, is lack of communication.  (Same with God).

Once you’ve identified the trend, they say the most important thing is acting ASAP.  We all know it’s easier to put weight on, than taking it off.  Basically, it’s easier to get into a slump, and not work on our relationships, than trying to work back to the relationship we had.  So, we need to find those ways to improve our relationships along the journey.

Pray about, ask God’s help, find something that works (if only for a short-time, you can always change again), and do it.  Put it into practice.

In Jeremiah 12:5 it states, “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?”  This tells me, we will never grow (to compete against horses) if we are falling behind on the first steps of growth.

Psalms 8:6 states, “You made them (people) rulers over the works of your hands, you put everything under their feet:”

When we do have that huge family reunion in heaven, we will rule over something, we just need to be prepared and ready.

 

Karen Y. Stevens is founder of Orange County Christian Writers Guild