Universal Magazine November 2018 Universal Magazine November 2018 | Page 13

Family
13
The importance of communication in families
W
ith each day, week and month
that passes, we become busier
and busier with all our responsibilities
and duties that the feeling of
frustration and the words ‘I have
no time’ become something we say
almost every day for everything we
are not able to do.
2.Sit together during meals (no
phones at the table – communicate
face to face)
3.Find out how each other’s day
has gone
4.Create opportunities to speak
Staying committed to these four
simple steps will certainly bring your
We want to do and make time for family closer together.
everything; we wish we could stop
the clock, but that’s impossible. Blimath da Silva can relate to this;
However, it is possible to make today, he has a happy home, but it
the most of our free time in a way wasn’t always this way. Continue
that can strengthen our families. reading to find out his story.
Investing in family time is one of our
greatest priorities one can have.
The Universal holds meetings
aimed at tackling family issues
Here are some tips on and
relationships
through
how you can make the prayerful support and practical
most of your free time: tips. Join us every Thursday at
7am, 10am, 3pm, or 7.30pm (main
1.Seek to do things together meeting). See page 14 for our
at least once a week or at the addresses.
weekends
‘A Challenge of
Faith reunited
my family’
‘M
y parents separated when I
was only three years old and
this affected me greatly. I
didn’t feel loved. My upbringing was
very difficult, so I began to hate my
parents. I was then sent to boarding
school, where I stayed for five years.
I would only go home twice a year
and, when I moved back home, our
relationship was very cold.
Growing up, I thought that leaving
my country would change everything.
When I saw an advert in the newspaper
about a job in the UK, that was the
perfect opportunity to leave everything
behind. So, I left Portugal to work but my
mother and I did not part on good terms. The
rift was so bad that I cut all communication
with her; I neither spoke to her nor travelled
back home to visit her.
The first time I understood that the grudge I
held towards her was only hurting me was at
the Universal Church. It hurt because I didn’t
want to do it, but I understood that I needed to set
myself free—how long would I accept carrying
hate inside? Deep down, I wanted us to have a
good mother-son relationship. Forgiving wasn’t
easy, but what spurred me to really do it was
the Challenge of Faith; it was one of the things I
chose to sacrifice to be a better me.
Initially, my mother didn’t accept my
apologies, but I persevered and,
with time, she accepted and we
made peace. Little by little, we
worked on our relationship
and today our relationship
is completely different. My
mother and I speak almost
every day and, from time
to time, I go back home to
visit her.
As I continued to attend
the meetings at the
Universal, I began to
have an inner peace that I
h a d never had before; there was
a difference in me from the inside
out. But it doesn’t finish there –
today I am also happily married.
My wife completes me and I am
truly happy!’
Blimath Da Silva