God’s plan for your family is holiness. Each of us, married or single, is part of a family. We all have a part to play to redeem the world. The writings of Pope St. John Paul II provide a beautiful description of what it looks like to be a family after God’s own heart.
God’s plan for family life consists of setting your priorities with God at the center, cultivating a healthy family prayer life, engaging in family recreation, loving unconditionally, building community with other families, and evangelization.
Recreation (Recreating with Your Family)
“Having fun together is one foundation of authoritative parenting. Kids won’t value time with you above time with same age peers if they rarely spend any time with you doing fun stuff.”
– Dr. Leonard Sax
Playing games together is a very powerful way to bond with someone. On the surface, playing games provides an opportunity to be together and interact with other people all around a common set of rules that constitute a given game.
On a deeper level, when we play with others, for a moment, we are on the same level, even if that person is a bit older or younger. Partaking in a game changes the normal rules of life and takes us into an alternate environment where everyone has an equal chance to win. When we play with someone, we are saying that we like to spend time with them, that we enjoy their company, that we share similar interests, and that we can have fun together regardless of differences in age, physical or mental abilities, or interests. The choice of the play activity is pretty important: for little kids it is easy to pick an activity, but as our children grow up, we have to become more creative. Some families might enjoy playing sports together, making music, or even role playing games. The idea is to find something that all are able to participate in and enjoy. Some things we do with the entire family, and other times, we subdivide the children and do things with just the younger kids or just the older ones. The goal is to create lasting memories of being together, to build the bonds of trust, and open the lines of communication. The time invested in your child(ren)’s relationship will prove to be very helpful when life gets hard and they need someone to talk to. We, as parents, want our children to believe that we are there for them, and playing with them helps to communicate that message.
“Play is the gateway to vitality. By its nature it is uniquely and intrinsically rewarding. It generates optimism, seeks out novelty, makes perseverance fun, leads to mastery, gives the immune system a bounce, fosters empathy and promotes a sense of belonging and community.”
– The National Institute for Play
“Play isn’t just about imagination; it is about rest and rejuvenation. It shapes our brain, fosters joy, creativity and innovation, and is essential to our health.”
– Brené Brown, PhD
Talks
Family Recreation Exercise
Resources
- Daily Scripture and Quotes on Family Play (You may wish to include these short readings in your daily prayers) – Week 1 and Week 2