Family Story: Develop the Plan {Short and Long Term Vision}

Now that we have taken a magnifying glass to assess our family more closely, it’s time to pull out some bifocals. You have identified your family’s values {the what}, your family’s mission {the why} and now it’s time to tackle vision {the how}.

We imagine and dream of what our family will look like, what we will be doing, and how we will treat others. Then we pause and take a closer look and we often don’t really like what we see. It’s important to not just imagine what our life will be like, but to also take the steps to create a plan for that vision to come to fruition. For a vision to be fulfilled we need goals, both short term and long term. We can see the destination, but we really need a plan how to get where we want to go.

God created us to be both near sighted and far sighted. One without the other leaves us with a very limited view. If you are only looking at what’s immediately in front of you then you may suddenly find yourself in a place that you never intended. A nearsighted view of things can become reactive to what is the highest priority, which often is a live in the moment, day-to-day approach to life. If we only have a far sighted view of life, we often miss the steps needed to actually reach our big dream or destination. As families we need bifocals—vision for what is near and what is in the distance.

What is Near…seeing your short-term goals

Near-sighted vision often pays attention to the fine details. When thinking about your family, what do you hope to see your family doing differently in 3-6 months? Always make sure your goals align with your vision. When it comes to short term vision, be sure to consider the things that are more easily incorporated.

For example. . .

If you value family time, you may want to consider having a game night every Friday. There are so many great games these days…Heads Up, Sequence, good old fashioned card games. A game night doesn’t take a lot of planning. Simply set the time aside. If you start a consistent family time when kids are young, they are much more likely to enjoy it as they get older.

If you value learning, you may want to learn something new together. My daughter wanted to learn to sew. Instead of adding it to the long list of things we hope to eventually do, I bought her a sewing school book, and we set a date to buy the supplies needed. Her little brothers were tagging along for the shopping trip, and because nobody likes to be left out, they each picked out fabric. Before I knew it we were all sitting at the table sewing little felt pillows. The following Sunday after church the kids came home and asked to “do some stitching”. We promptly sat down to the table and began our stitching. I looked around the table and saw something more than a craft, it was a beautiful mess. A simple goal that was set, fulfilled, and in the end, was doing something beautiful in our family. It was bringing us closer together.

If you value community service, you may want to incorporate a consistent time to serve as a family. This could be simply visiting a nursing home, doing a Lemonade stand for a water well or hosting a shoe cutting party. There are so many ways to get kids involved, but often it is hard to identify them and to make them a priority. If you are wanting a family culture that serves their community then you must be intentional about fostering those opportunities. There may be seasons your family needs to put a hold or pause on serving, but let that be a chance to re-focus and rest together.

What is Distant…seeing your long-term goals

Imagine your family 1-3 years from now. This vision may take a little more time to come to fruition. It’s not that you can’t begin working towards your long-term vision now {actually, you need to}, but it means attaining it may take a little more time. Long-term goals need to measurable, defined, and attainable.

For example, my kids really want to go to Africa. In fact, my daughter put it on her wish list for Christmas. Unfortunately, Santa isn’t in the business of sending kids to Africa, but after some discussion she and I decided this was definitely something that we could be praying about. Granted, God may answer a 7 year’s old prayer by some spontaneous way for an African excursion, but the trip will mean more to her if it is something that she has worked towards somehow. Imagining my daughter’s dream to go to Africa requires foresight and planning. I’m still not sure how we are going to get there or even when, but we are making steps to get there slowly but surely. A short term goal for us would be to get our passports, and a long term goal would be to actually go on the trip.

When considering vision-related goals look at multiple aspects of your family’s life and set goals accordingly. Be sure to include your spouse and kids in the conversation as well.

Emotional – focus on character traits that need to be addressed

Physical – be intentional about exercise, stretching, or more specifically for the kids, learning to do a cartwheel

Relational – make efforts to fight less, plan more play dates to develop friendships

Community – serve locally, write letters to loved ones, host a shoe cutting party

Financial – set a give, savings and purchase goal for each member of the family, talk about long term trips or items you’d like to save for together

Recreational – explore a new hobby {like sewing school}

Developmental – work on speech or motor skills such as tying shoes or riding a bike

Educational – set goals to advance reading levels or for parents, sign up for a continuing education course

Spiritual – implement a weekly, family memory verse or complete a particular devotional together {consider joining Jessica’s family journey with What’s in the Bible?}

Remember…

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.Proverbs 16:9

Vision is necessary, goals are good, but most of all we must trust that the Lord has a plan and that He is guiding our path. He often first requires us to takes steps of faith to see the path that he is providing. If anything, take these goals before the Lord and be willing to allow him to be the editor as together you write your family story.

What short term or long term goals do you see for your family? How is creating vision for your family challenging?