Week 33 (10 - 16 Aug): Family Night

Church,

God cares deeply about families. His heart is for fathers and mothers to love their children, because their love is a reflection of His divine love. A loving family helps a child learn what it means to love and be loved; this secure base is how a child flourishes in this world. It also pleases God's heart when children obey and honour their parents (Colossians 3:20). Family is part of God's masterful design for us - it is where we first encounter belonging, where we learn to give and receive love, and how we begin to understand something of the love of God Himself.

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The Young Adults hosted our second ever Family Night at TAVA last Saturday. The objective of Family Night is to encourage bonding between parents and children. When families thrive, societies thrive. In attendance were many of our students from the Academic Guidance programme, who came with their parents. Bryan and Kegan planned 3 meaningful activities, which allowed the parents and children to not only have fun, but to learn something new about one another and to express their appreciation for their family.

It was such a pleasant surprise to see how well the parents knew their children (and vice versa) during the games! For those of us who teach these children, it was eye-opening to see a different side of them too. We had a good laugh when many of the children were able to guess their parents' answers for questions like, 'what is your super power?' and 'what is your parent's favourite thing to say?' It was also heartwarming to see parents hitting the nail on the head for questions like 'what is your child's favourite subject in school?' and 'what is your child's fast food order?'.

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For me, the most meaningful activity was the last one, where the children had to write a letter of appreciation to their parents, and vice versa. How often do we speak words of affirmation to the people who are closest to us? Not very often, I would say. It was thus moving to see how they responded to heartfelt words from one another. I am confident that our participants left TAVA feeling more connected.

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Reflecting on this now, I am reminded that I belong to a church that reimagines what it means to do and be church. I know we have always said that Talent Beacon is a church without walls; for us, church for us is so much more than a physical building. I have seen this lived out in the way we host fellowships: breakfast for the elderly on Sunday mornings, over pickleball, over a simple shared meal.

Ultimately, God is love. And therefore, wherever genuine love is expressed - where people are present to one another, delighting in one another, making room for one another, giving themselves to one another - we see something of God's character and His heart. Whenever we create space for people to experience love, belonging and community, we are reflecting the nature of the God we worship and belong to.

As we continue journeying alongside our community in Bukit Batok, may we be faithful in our sowing, even when we may not yet see fruit. As we serve the Lord and His people, may our time, energy and love be a pleasing offering to Him. In His time, God will bring the fruit. May we continue to abide in Jesus, the true Vine, and invite Him to be the centre of every gathering and every home. Amen!

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them." 1 John 4:16

On behalf of RT1

Lycia