A Personal Note from Pastor's Pen - Family

Next week, we begin our Focus on the Family February. In preparation for that, I want to write about one of the biggest breakdowns in all relationships, especially for yours truely. From relationships at home, in the family, at the office, or around the world, the thing that makes them great or makes them tough is communication. You have a vision for your family, your business, your day-to-day activities, but how you communicate affects how well this vision is accomplished. The truth is none of us are as good at communication as we believe that we are. Have you ever been in an argument and someone said, “well, you said…” and you responded that you never said that. Or vice versa, you may think you told them something that they can’t remember you ever telling them. And we can blame them all day long for getting it wrong, but there must be an underlying issue in communication that you too must accept. There are ways that you and I can make sure the people around us get the right message the first time. Most communication breakdowns can be traced back to one of three things:

1. No communication. Sometimes we think we communicated something, but then the confusion around us says otherwise. Please don’t take the prideful bait of always thinking it was them not listening, especially if it happens often. Always beware that thinking about communicating and actually doing it are two different things.            

2. Jumbled communication. This is communication that’s expressed but   unclear. An example of this is being too vague because you don’t want to hurt feelings. However, it is never good if people have to guess at what you are saying.

3. Graceless communication. Always remember that God told us to always have our words seasoned with grace!