Family Is Always Worth It

What a person desires is unfailing love;
better to be poor than a liar.

Proverbs 19: 22

One of the best things about growing up is being able to have honest conversations with your family.

On the other hand, one of the worst feelings growing up is having a really awkward conversation with your family. I remember when I had to talk to my dad about how I got 10 detentions for making a fake parking permit for school…

But to tell you the truth, having honest conversations with my family is one thing I’ll never regret (even if they were sometimes super uncomfortable). And honesty goes both ways too. It was cool when I started learning about how my mom grew up, finding out that my dad actually needed my help in certain ways, and learning how to feel connected with my sisters. I know that having a great relationship with your family is one of the last things on most teenagers’ minds, but it really is one of the best parts about growing up.

Our Brave Summer Camps are coming up, and they’re a great chance to learn to have the kind of relationships with your family that you really want!

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Galatians 5: 6

When I was in high school, I went to camps similar to the Brave camps coming up. They gave me an increase in faith, and that faith expressed itself in love. I didn’t realize that just by learning how to have a relationship with God, I’d start improving my relationship with my family too.

When someone close to you increases their faith, it’s noticeable and exciting. And it’s also a chance for family to get closer.

I began to learn that this was one of the powers the bible has in my life, the closer I got to God, the happier my times with my family were. I’m grateful for those times and love remembering the close talks with my mom and dad where we talked about our faith; the weaknesses, strengths, battles, failures and victories.

• Have you made the decision to become closer to your family?
• What opportunities do you have in front of you to start changing those relationships?