Some families do not even have a single meal together. One of the spouses may come home late from work or from a church meeting. The children are more familiar with the TV and the home theatre than they are with their parents. When this happens, the family home is reduced from a home to a dormitory or hostel where total strangers meet, abide by certain specific rules and time schedules, but get on with their individual lives independently. This is not the way God designed families to be. A family needs to live, eat, pray and play together as much as possible and as often as possible. In time s of crisis, families that effectively live together have a better chance of overcoming the crisis than those that are merely co-habiting.
There are many times of crises that can confront a family. Sickness in the family can be of such a magnitude that the family can be torn apart. This is often the case when the sick individual is a relative of one of the spouses.
The need for total family support during these times cannot be over-emphasized. It will be totally unfair to let the spouse whose relative is sick and living at your home shoulder the whole burden by her or himself.
If the sick relative happens to be in hospital, it is imperative that both spouses set aside times to visit the patient, either separately or together, whichever is convenient for both spouses. Husbands are usually the major offenders with regard to this requirement. Wives are usually very good at caring for the sick relative, even though they may be the husbands relative rather than their own. A good husband will be considerate enough to chip in from time to time and demonstrate his love and concern for the sick relative instead of leaving everything to his wife. When the sick relative is that of the wife, some husbands will hardly ever show up at the hospital. This is unfortunate and totally unfair to the wife.
Crisis time is also a time when children can be initiated into becoming care givers and people with compassion for others. Indeed, you can begin to get to know your children better by getting them involved in care-giving to a sick relative. Always remember that parents are the model of a married couple that the children will copy later in their lives. What example are you setting for your children in relation to handling a crisis? Every crisis should be an opportunity to bring the family members closer together.
Working closer to each other as family members should enable you to get to know each other better. Yes, children watch their parents very closely during times of crisis, and they will be able to categorise you very accurately in terms of whether you are a loving and caring parent or not.
The situation can get even more complicated when the sick individual is one of the family members. It becomes the duty of all the family members to care for the sick person. This should not be left only to the mother, especially when the sick member is a toddler or teenager or adult. All of us can play a significant role in caring for the sick member of our family. That is the way it should always be. God bless your family.
Post published in: Opinions