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“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”
~ I Peter 4:8
A cup of tea opens hearts for friendship to grow strong and deep.
When I say my children (and Clay) are my deepest, very best friends, I really mean it. Sarah and I have been meeting once a week for tea time, coffee time or whatever, once a week for over 20 years. She is my soul friend—and so are my other sweet ones. But it comes with intentionality, seeking to love well, using words of encouragement, seeking to understand. Take time for tea time with one of your precious ones this week. Rhythms build a family culture of love.
One of my boys commented after returning home for the holidays, “It is so great to be back in our family culture of love—no matter what conflict, difficulty, failure or attitude, I know I can come home to unconditional love. I have all of you here to support me, to accept me, to help me. What a grace to grow up in a family culture of unconditional love. I never knew how blessed our family was until I left home. We have so very much to celebrate together now that we are together again. I am so happy to be here to be able to restore.”
We were not a perfect family, we had conflict through seasons, but unchanging love was the holding foundation of our home culture.
All of us as families create a family culture of some kind. The traditions we keep, the meals we make, the routines we practice, the values we espouse and hold, the movies that are our favorites, the church we attend, the generosity we practice, the way we invest time, the company we keep—all of these come together to craft our particular family culture. We can also inadvertently create a family culture that is negative—a culture of anger, neglect, guilt, discord, disharmony, worldly values, and so on.
I have realized over many years that crafting a culture of love requires that I become the conductor of a loving, generous heart that leads all of my children to understand God's love. We model ourselves after the ultimate lover—Jesus. Toddlers to teens will question us along the way, but fervent love wins the day.
Lots of ideas on today’s Tea Time Tuesday podcast.
