Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:4

Today I learned of two families who are experiencing estrangement with their own kids. It’s not the first I’ve heard in recent years, but it was odd that I encountered two sets of parents with nearly identical stories, especially in terms of the outcome of being cut out of the lives of their children and grandchildren over what seems to be petty circumstances.

One of the parents told me this kind of thing is more widespread than we think because we don’t generally share this kind of information on social media and I suppose that’s true. We don’t like to air our own dirty laundry, do we?

So what are we to do? While we can’t change the circumstances, we can lend a sympathetic ear and pray for the restoration of these families. I think that is what Paul is getting at in the verse above.

It’s all too easy to get wrapped up in our own little world and not see those in need around us. I am reminded of the title of a little story our oldest wrote when he was small- Open your eyes and see.

Let us open our eyes and see the needs around us. It may require some time and effort, but it will be worth it as we demonstrate God’s love to us by loving others around us.