Spiritual Help for Family Stress
There is ample medical evidence that stress takes its toll on our physical bodies. Stress, both good and bad stress, are an inevitable part of living. A pastor’s family experiences the stress that everyone else has but also some additional stresses as part of being related to a pastor. The good news is that we also have some spiritual resources that can assist us in countering some of the negative factors of stress in our lives.
What I want to propose is a liturgical family event that could be practiced from time to time in the family. If children are part of the family, then an element of fun can be added by having a favorite dessert as part of the event. If the family unit consists of just two adults, perhaps it could include either a special tea, freshly brewed coffee, or a glass of wine if that is acceptable in the family. The point is that the food and drink can contribute to this being a relaxing event.
As a symbol of God’s presence, light a candle and place it in the middle of those present. Perhaps a track from a CD might be played as people begin to relax and focus on the candle. Then, as people are ready, each person offers a verbal prayer of thanks for a quality in the family for which they are thankful. After all have had an opportunity to do that, then people can offer a specific word of thanks for either an event or an action of some member of the family. If there are only two people present, you might want to offer these thanksgivings more than once.
The event can conclude with everyone praying the Lord’s prayer or to recite the 23rd psalm together. Try different translations of the psalm. It might have special impact if the words “our family” were substituted for the pronoun in the psalm. “The Lord is our families shepherd,” etc
If this were done once a month, one would be aware of the temperature of the family and where special attention needs to be paid.
