Family Mission Statement

I have read somewhere that when a ship is first built, the different parts speak out their individuality. “I am a bolt”, “I am a sail”, “I am a bulkhead”... The voices are noise and every part thinks only of itself. When the ship sails, hits high water and every inch is pulled in different directions then slowly the parts merge; they give and take strength from each other. Then they become one voice.

God takes us through rough waters to forge a strong and unbreakable bond between the family members. God created the first family. He strengthens the family as the third cord in a three cord wire. He is the one who builds and unless He builds the builder builds in vain.

One of the toughest times in our family life made us take a stand and evaluate what exactly God wants from our marriage. God showed us a book – Seven habits of highly effective families to understand the need for a Family Mission Statement. A Mission Statement is a dream written down, a portion of our mental image of a Godly family made concrete with words and hung at a place where we can see it every day.

This is our Family Mission Statement.

Our Family Mission Statement

My husband and I found it hard to communicate with each other. This was due to us being introverts, our family backgrounds and sheer lack of time. Prayer helped us heal and open our hearts to each other. During prayer, we could speak in the safety and comfort of God’s presence without the fear of being judged. This has been our habit for over a decade. We pray together every night as a family.

The vulnerable part of being in a family is that our weaknesses are exposed. Instead of using the knowledge to pull each other down God taught us to cover each other’s weaknesses in prayer and help the weak with one's God-given strengths. We give each other space to be ourselves and grow at our own pace. This has brought us closer than we imagined possible.

Our God-given abilities are to be honed or fanned to flames for His glory. As a homemaker, it is easy to fall into a pattern of mundane boredom. As an employee, my husband can fall into the trap of routine humdrum. We break this by doing what we love and deliberately having fun. In my case - writing, trekking and drawing helps me rejuvenate. But I don’t do this automatically. It takes my husband’s constant encouraging voice to get back on track when I am tempted to fall off it. In his case, I encourage him to do his charcoal painting, play the guitar and go running. We need each other to help us remember our individualities. We should not have to run away from the family to have fun. Our spouse should be our best friend. Our family home our most favourite hangout spot. 

Both of us are highly ambitious, always coming up with a new plan to do something or study something new. The way we filter out these various ideas is this – Will it take our focus away from God? Will it take our time away from our children? These things narrow down what we do with our time and also who we spend it with. We have a select few close friends who respect us as a family, give us space and who are a positive influence in our lives. 

We understand the reason why my husband and I are brought together - It is to raise Godly children. It's a call for all parents.  Malachi 2:15 Didn't the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit, you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. 

Our Family Mission Statement is God’s vision for our lives. It gives us clear roles and responsibilities. Although like a ship we sometimes go adrift during storms, this mission statement has helped us get our bearings, correct course and set sail to our God-chosen destiny.