By Victor Salamba
A well formulated family vision is a multi-generational agenda that will grow to outlast crises, will outlive success and will keep your family together after you are gone.
The three following points are important in preparing a vision for your family:
1. Retreat: It is important to always pull away while making a vision for your family. You cannot come up with a vision while in motion, that is impulse! Retreating ensures that you take a break from the day to day motions and look at your life and your family from the outside looking in. Many people ask, “must I get away, should I go with my children, is it expensive?” The answers are simple, yes you must get away, leave your children behind and it should not be an overly expensive exercise. Ensure that your retreat destination is relaxing, as this will trigger inspiration. Expect the retreat to reboot your mind and to give you fresh perspectives.
2. Examine obstacles: at the retreat, you must examine what the biggest obstacle(s) have been to having the family and life that you desire. You must look at what you want for your family versus what really is. Be clear as to who, what, or where the obstacle(s) lie. Once identified they will enable you to break the cycle of unfulfilled visions in your family and come up with a relevant and effective family vision.
3. Write down the vision: Habakkuk 2:2: “write down the vision, make it clearer. The family vision should not be in your head. Families don’t work by chance. Ensure that you are in agreement with your spouse. If you are single, then be in agreement with yourself. You must write it down because this communicates agreement, accountability and it is verifiable because it is well articulated on paper.
Kindly note that a budget is not a vision for the family. The vision must cover every area of your family life including, marriage, sex & intimacy, family values & traditions, spirituality, finances, children and grand children, etc. Once written, it creates a guideline and a reference point on how the family shall be run – even to the third generation! This is how we preserve our families, not by chance but by intention.
