Generally speaking, living with your family means roughly 20 years of communal living. 20 years of learning to build relationships. 20 years that make you who you are. Relationships with your family can be difficult at times. Families can be the home of great joys, like it can be the source of many wounds. Sometimes, it can take a long while to mend a broken relationship, to forgive, to allow Christ to intervene in the relationship you have with your family…  Today, we suggest you make a very simple act of love for your family.    

We all know what a bank account is. We make deposits and savings for times of need. In the same vein, imagine that you have an "affection account", where you can deposit the product of successful interactions with someone else: trust. This “account” represents the degree of security of your relationship with a person. Whenever you are being courteous, caring, sincere, and trustworthy, you are making savings. Each time you act the opposite way, the balance on your account drops.    

 There are seven types of transfers you can make to someone else's “affection account”:

• Demonstrating kindness
• Asking for forgiveness
• Being loyal to the ones who are not present to defend themselves 
• Staying true to your promises
• Being Forgiving
• Expressing clearly and earnestly your expectations
• Listening attentively to them, and understanding them

A question to ask yourself:

Great relationships are built with small gestures. Where do you stand currently in your relationships with your parents and your siblings? Do you take care of your relationship with each one of them? 

Closely examine, with the Lord's guidance, the seven “transfers” to the “affection account”: what concrete steps could you make to love your family better?