A good friend visited one summer and shared details of what had become a failed marriage. Her husband frequented Asia for work and had become deeply entrenched in a pattern of infidelity. Now she and her children faced life without a husband and father.
It’s dangerously easy for Road Warriors to grow comfortable with distance from their family and community by falling into the habit of only loosely communicating while away. The unfortunate result can be emotional distance and separate lives where each simply does their own thing.
God gave us family and community and established unique roles for us in each other’s lives. He does not want us to become disconnected. When the apostles traveled, they constantly tied in to community or family. It was near impossible to live a separate life. A common denominator among travelers who have experienced relational adversity is that one or both parties slid into a separate life. In so disconnecting, they not only became distant from each other, but also from God’s plan.
As with devotion and prayer, communication and connection with home are critical. Contact needs to be much more than simply checking a box during a hectic week. Married Road Warriors who travel solo need a purposeful communication plan that establishes presence at home even while away. Good, healthy community on the road can also help fill the void, especially for the single traveler. We’ll deep dive that subject in a separate Bible Plan.
For married travelers, we recommend setting aside regular dates and times to connect with home in advance, intentionally slowing down before connecting, and using live communication apps like Facetime or Skype. Set aside a few minutes to connect with God before you connect with your family. Pray and get in the right state of mind and heart. Get out of the work mode to foster a true connection.
Connect, listen deeply, share your day and your thoughts, and seek to understand what is happening in each other’s lives. Persist! You’ll find yourself better tuned in, better connected, and more aligned with God’s plan for your relationship with your family.
Scripture:
Ephesians 3: 14-19
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
PAUL’S EXHORTATIONS AT END OF EACH EPISTLE