Fantastic Families: Step 5 Nurture Spiritual Wellbeing

For many of us, faith is the glue that holds us together and makes us strong. When you build your house on a spiritual foundation, the blessings are many. Below are a few of them.

Blessing 1: Purpose or Meaning
When life gets overwhelming, it helps to recognize that your life has a higher purpose. God placed you on Earth at this time for a reason. You may not know exactly what that reason is, but knowing there is one goes a long way in finding comfort in life's ups and downs.  

Blessing 2: Guidelines for Living
Our Christian faith provides us with moral guidelines that help us live our lives the way God wants us to. Knowing right from wrong and teaching our children the same helps build stronger families and healthier communities.  

Blessing 3: Freedom and Peace
Through Paul, God told us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Through Peter he said, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." By turning to God and trusting that he has a plan for us, we not only find freedom from fear, anger and anxiety, we find peace.

Blessing 4: A Positive, Confident Outlook
When you consider blessings one, two and three, it's not hard to see why believers often have a positive, confident outlook on the world. When you believe that life has meaning and purpose, it helps you maintain perspective. You're not overwhelmed by temporary troubles and are able to see the joy where others only see hardship.

Blessing 5: Support from Like-Minded People
In this series, we've talked a lot about our own physical families, but having a spiritual foundation also gives us access to another family - our church family. It's likely you've already experienced the love and support that this group of people can provide - whether it's working together on a church fundraiser, participating in a "play date" with friends from Sunday School or just enjoying good conversation at Wednesday's church supper. Having a group of people who share your value system and your faith is a wonderful gift.        

Blessing 6: Access to the Power of God
As Christians we know that when we face trials and tribulations, our faith and hope give us the confidence we need to persevere. But we also know that the strength doesn't lie within us, it comes from God. Strong families recognize God's involvement in their lives and praise Him for it.     

How is your family nurturing your spiritual wellbeing? Consider setting aside some time each day for prayer and meditation. Or perhaps read a Bible verse or two as a family and discuss what it means to you. Take time out of your busy lives to honor God's presence in your lives.