How to Turn Passion Into PurposeSample

We’ve all been entrusted with people to love: grandparents, parents, siblings, children, extended family, or friends who have come to rely on us like family. Does someone feel lonely or unloved? Do our loved ones feel heard and seen and appreciated? Do they know that we care, that we are there for them, that we will fight for them? It can be easy to become consumed in our work, especially at those times when we experience great momentum and feel we are making progress. It can also be easy to forget our loved ones during the harder times in our work, when we may face tremendous obstacles and struggle to keep going. No matter what we are going through in our fight to make the world better, faithfully loving those around us, as imperfect as our love may be, is a constant call. We also need the love our families have to give us, however imperfect it may be. We can achieve the greatest victories in our activism; we can stand up to terrible evils and speak great truths—but if we reject or ignore those closest to us, have we really succeeded?

To love our families means we must also pursue healing in our families. Love means making time for one another, celebrating each other’s joys, and embracing each other when we hurt. Healing can mean having the hard conversations when necessary, saying “sorry” for our failings, and being quick to forgive. It can mean getting outside help, too. Our causes require sacrifice, but our families deserve our sacrifice, too.

A family open to love, that seeks healing and strives to grow together, is the secret to a changed and renewed world. As we fight for our causes, may we never stop fighting to love our families best.