Several months ago my daughter (D1) was informed by her youngest son, five-year-old Luke, that the gathering her family had every Monday night was not called Family Home Evening, but Happy Family.
“Is it Happy Family tonight?” he asked and when she tried to correct him, Luke insisted that Happy Family was the real name. He has persisted in this ever since refusing to let anyone in the family call it anything but Happy Family. So the name has caught on and even the teenagers in the family are now calling it Happy Family.
The interesting thing, D1 reports, is what a difference it has made in their home. “It is so funny,” D1 told me, “but everyone’s attitude about Family Home Evening has changed. Everyone is excited about being part of Happy Family where before there were times of murmuring and reluctance. I don’t know how much is due to the name change and how much is Luke’s enthusiasm, but whatever it is, it is working! The whole family is eagerly looking forward to Happy Family each week. I love it!”
Like D1, I don’t know if the name change or the enthusiasm of a young brother has caused the change in attitude. Probably it is a combination of both. However, I do know that words have power and that what we call things and the words we choose to describe our lives influence those lives greatly.
I think I’ll remember this as I implement my word of the year. As part of my rejuvenation I’m going to think about what words I use daily. Do I have to clean the house or do I get to clean the house? It’s amazing what such a small change in words can do to lift spirits and alter the way you look at life!
(Picture is of Luke in the Hill Cumorah Pageant last July)
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