[Editor’s note: The author explains her family’s Lenten commitment to take the Love Dare here . Regular updates will be posted all through Lent. Click here to catch up on previous posts. Due to CE staff scheduling, we will not be able to keep up with these posts daily, but we will make sure they are all posted, even though it means they run past Lent. ]
Recognize and comment on a time when a family member behaved in a way that demonstrated Christian Character.
“Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6).
Today was another breakthrough day for us! First of all, a man collapsed at church behind us (during the Consecration). I have seen quite a few people die and this man had that look. I grabbed my husband, who is a physician, and said, “That man needs your help.” My daughter called 911, my mom stayed with the man’s wife until her son came, our priest stopped Mass to give the man the Sacrament of anointing of the sick and my husband (with the grace of God) saved his life. My family is at its best in a crisis, unfortunately we have had a lot of practice. They were amazing. The real blessing came after the crisis was over. My older kids came up to me and said, “Our dad is the coolest person ever. I am so proud of him.”
This is huge for us. You see, being the kids of a doctor is not easy. My kids don’t see much of their dad, he works a lot. When he is home he is often tired, stressed or distracted. The kids on the bus assume we must be rich (we’re not), so my children take a lot of ribbing from their peers. They often wish their dad had a “normal” job. Today they got to see their dad in action. The love and respect they have for them was evident in their eyes and their voices. Still, God wasn’t done with my husband or the kids.
At dinner we were challenged again. My daughter asked her dad a very tough question about his life. Out of respect for my husband’s privacy, I won’t discuss what it was, but it was personal and serious. It must have taken my daughter a lot of courage to ask what was on her mind.
My husband responded by sharing very personal information with his children. He admitted horrible failures and lessons he had learned the hard way.
When he was done talking, my children saw their dad in a new light. They said, “The dare is changing us. Dad has never shared stuff like that with us before.” They saw their dad as a man, who has fallen and through God’s grace, rose up again to his full potential. He choose to share this in front of our daughter’s new boyfriend. The boyfriend responded with gratitude at being given the privilege of hearing the story and appreciation at the level of trust it took for my husband to share it. We are indeed feeling blessed today.
Lord, let us have the courage to always share truth with our family members. Help us to build a family that has an environment that protects each others secrets.
