Today’s busy families don’t have much time these days.

Friday, October 08, 1999

Today’s busy families don’t have much time these days. Soccer on Mondays, dance lessons on Wednesdays and parents who have to work late three out of five nights a week make it tough for parents to see their children, let alone spend quality time with them.

With the ever-increasing demands on families’ time and so many competing interests for children’s attention, sometimes we need to be reminded of where our time would best be spent.

This week, many Lawrence County church congregations reminded all of us that there are some events during our week that should take priority.

Ironton city officials had innocently set trick-or-treat night for the city on Wednesday evening. That time is usually reserved for church events. The slight was not intentional, sometimes dates conflict before anyone realizes there is a problem.

But the churches noticed the date right away and called to let the city know of the conflict. The city changed the date and now there can be a Halloween and a church night.

Our children look to us not just for advice, but for clues on how to set priorities in their lives. This week, a bunch of Lawrence County parents taught their children that a family evening at church is important, even if it means having to change a special event.

That kind of direction is important.

The busy lives most families lead today preclude some of the closeness and ties that were the hallmark of the childhoods most of our parents enjoyed. Some say that might be part of the reason some of our children feel detached, alone.

Perhaps there should be more times when someone sends up a flare to remind us of what is really important in our lives.

This week, our local churches reminded us that we should never be too busy to put family and faith at the top of the list.