Each Family member responds to the daily routines of life differently. It’s hard to keep this truth in focus when you are all experiencing the same events. What one parent seems to manage well, the other will struggle. One child will push through a challenging experience, while another gets stuck in a loss grief cycle of denial, anger, bargaining, or depression.
The shared experience of the campfire teaches us that family needs to take time to reflect on what is before them. Be sure to remember that even the magic that a campfire produces is interpreted differently. Some family members are watching the dancing flames, another the unique colors of blue, red, yellow, or orange, another is looking at the embers while others are being bothered by the smoke. Never forget that someone looks at a campfire thinking that it needs another log and they are out looking for firewood rather than being enthralled by its beauty and the intimacy of family time. Family is amazing because it is a shared experience with unique interpretations of each day, event, circumstance, joy, or sorrow. A great family is formed around its differences, not its similarities. However, there is a moment when everyone sitting around the campfire is living in the same moment and that’s magical and a time to thank God.