Conversations are happening around us all the time but do you realize how important each of these conversations is to your life? At the church I work at, we use caring conversation all the time; in our Confirmation program, in our Bible studies. But more than any of this, conversation is an important part of our homes as well. Now think about it! How many times a day do you find yourself engaging in a conversation?
Maybe you are a parent and many of your conversations involve simply asking your children how school was or how their day was? Most of the time Ill bet you get a pretty morous answer; “ok”, “alright” or another one word answer. These conversations might be simple but it seems to me that eventually you will have to converse about the hard stuff; the stuff that neither one of you probably wants to talk about.
Caring conversation is essential to all our relationships! If we can’t talk to each other, then how will we able to talk about the tough stuff? How will we be able to learn to trust each other if we don’t talk to each other? Our confirmation program and our faith milestones programs bring in every home of every child in that specific class. What has been absolutely amazing to watch is how important that time and those conversations are to the homes of this community of faith. WOW! I’ve seen divorced parents sitting at a table with their child TALKING to each other; not yelling, not arguing but simply talking to each other. What a wonderful example of why these conversations are so important!
Too much of our lives these days are busy running from here to there to here again and back to there that we simply dont take the time to sit down together, we simply run through the drive-thru, grab supper, and head to our next activity. But the truth is we will get so much more out of our relationships and life if we take the time to talk. As I grow older, I have really come to appreciate and realize why I need “caring conversation” in my life. I think of my relationship with my own mom who lives in a nursing home because of her illness (she is manic/bipolar;had a nervous breakdown shortly after my sister was born almost 30 years ago) we dont have the most in-depth conversations. She isnt the mom I once knew. However I know that when I call her, it means the world to her. Our conversations may be short and brief but they have also allowed us to have the tough conversations. Recently a family member lost their child and I had to tell my mom. If it hadnt been for our “caring conversations,” I know this would have been much more difficult.
So tonight give it a try; turn off the tv, sit down for supper and simply talk to each other. “Caring Conversation” can be as simple as sharing about your day today. Enjoy some “caring conversation”, make it a ritual, and then let me know what you think.
