Since COVID has it been more difficult than you expected for your family’s emotional well-being to “get back to normal”?
It has been for a lot of families. That’s why I’ve invited my colleague, Dr. Danny Huerta, to join me on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Cultivating a Mentally Healthy Family.” Dr. Huerta is a speaker, author, and vice president of Parenting and Youth here at Focus. He oversees our initiatives that equip mothers and fathers with biblical principles and counsel for raising healthy, resilient children.
He says to come alongside your family in emotional support:
- Develop a strong spiritual foundation. Good mental health begins with a solid spiritual foundation that helps you establish life-giving spiritual rhythms of prayer, Bible study, and conversations about faith.
- Be intentional about building a relationship with your children. Start conversations with your children. Ask how you can encourage, support, and pray for them. Seek opportunities to step into your child’s stress and emotional discontent.
- Act out of faith, not fear. Guard against allowing stressful situations to stir up irrational behavior in you. Model a healthy pursuit of faith and mental well-being. Isaiah 26:3-4 offers this promise: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.”
- Remember that mental health includes emotional and relational health. For good or for bad, our emotional state is often a byproduct of our thoughts and of the condition of our most meaningful relationships.
- Help your children see their value in Jesus. Children often give other people too much power over their perceptions of themselves instead of believing what God’s Word says about who they are.
Dr. Huerta has practical tools for helping your family cultivate good mental health. Hear our full conversation on your local radio station, online, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, via Google Podcasts, or take us with you on our free phone app.
If you or someone in your family is struggling with difficult emotions like anxiety, loneliness, hopelessness, or grief, we have caring Christian counselor on staff, and it would be their privilege to offer you a free consultation. Call us, leave your name and number and they’ll get back to you as soon as possible. The number during business hours is 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).
Dr. Danny Huerta’s book, Seven Traits of Effective Parenting, is available for a gift of any amount. We’ll send it out to you as a way of saying thank you for partnering with us to strengthen families with the resources they need. For more information, click here.
