“Hi honey, I have some news, I need you to sit down.” My husband’s words over the phone sent my heart racing. I knew this tone in his voice and it didn’t portend good things. I was in the middle of a work trip across the country when I learned that one of our children, who has a serious mental illness, had attempted suicide. Mercifully, our child was going to be okay, but I didn’t know that at first. I raced back to the hospital bedside filled with sickening worry and deep sadness for our hurting child.

Unbelievably, exactly one week later, another of our children, also with serious mental illness, woke me from a deep sleep at midnight with words I’ll never forget: “Mom, help me, I’m scared, I swallowed pills.” I scooped our child tightly into my arms, began silently praying, and called 911. We followed the ambulance and found ourselves in the very same hospital, same floor, same room, different child, one week later. Mercifully, the second child also survived the attempt.

I cried to the behavioral health clinician who came by to see how we were doing. Not well. “I don’t know what to do, our kids are so sick.” I felt despondent and cried out to God for help and healing and strength. It’s hard to describe this level of fear and hopelessness. I wanted to crawl under the covers and not come out. But my kids needed me. And I still needed to work.

Because of their early trauma in the foster care system and serious mental illness in their birth families, our kids needed significant extra care and professional services. All of it took a great deal of time and energy. They also needed me to keep my good job to pay the bills. Raising four kids, three of whom had extreme medical needs, was expensive. Juggling work and family felt impossible. My kids needed me with them, and they needed me to work because it takes money to live and eat.

Unfortunately, the dark time described above was just one week of a 13-year, non-stop journey of the same type—hospitalizations, doctors, psychiatrists, therapists, special pharmacies, residential treatment facilities. It all just kept coming while I was trying to work to make ends meet. Living in these extreme tensions brought severe strains to our marriage, our finances, and work-life balance. Only by God’s grace did we survive.

I and my husband needed help. A lot of help. One thing we really needed, but didn’t have, was paid family leave.

I worked at an organization with more than 50 employees, so we were fortunate to have the protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act. I could at least be assured I wouldn’t lose my job because I had to care for sick children. But while that was an incredible relief, it wasn’t enough. Taking unpaid leave meant that there wasn’t money coming in to support the same amount of bills taking the money out. So, we went into debt. It was an easy choice because there were no others.

Many people, however, can’t afford to take unpaid time off even if they are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, and many more don’t even have that option because its provisions don’t apply to them. Our family was among the lucky ones.

My job paid well, and my husband was retired from the Air Force. So, he was able to be home more to meet the unique caregiving responsibilities of having children with extreme illnesses. But not everyone can do that. Many people lose jobs, homes, retirements, relationships, and more because of the impossible challenge of trying to care for sick loved ones while keeping their jobs and paying their bills. Church community can help, but not to the extent families need. As a result, far too many in these situations are simply stuck. And the strain caused by these types of circumstances ruptures families and destroys lives.

It doesn’t have to stay this way. There’s a better way, and paid family leave is an essential component.

Maybe you’ve never been in this impossible position; be thankful. You likely will be at some point in your life. Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, founder of the Institute for Caregivers, said it well: “There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, and those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.”

Whether it’s caring for a chronically ill or injured child, a spouse with a long-term illness, or aging or dying parents, juggling the realities of caregiving and work is a challenge faced every day by millions of Americans. This situation crosses all ideological, political, geographic, and faith boundaries. And when a challenge like this is such a common reality for millions of Americans, the ground is ripe for broad, bipartisan support for common sense solutions.

It seems cliché to mention the radical polarization plaguing our nation, but it’s real and it affects us all in our daily lives. Paid family leave, like parental leave, is an issue that should bring disparate groups together to advance the well-being of all American families and bring a modicum of unity along the way. Christians, especially, should be part of that conversation.

Evangelical, pro-family advocates have long supported the primacy of the family in public policy and the culture. From repealing the marriage penalty, to the child tax credit, to the family friendly ratings systems in popular culture, family friendly policies have been advanced because the family is the core institution of society. Its wellbeing affects churches, communities, states, and nations. The importance of family wellbeing is reflected in the multi-million-dollar, non-profit organizations that have encouraged people to focus on their families by prioritizing marriage and child rearing among competing priorities. Pro-life Christians have noted the importance of caring for elderly parents, rallied against a throwaway culture, and advocated for compassionate care.

All these commitments make pro-family advocates natural allies with their progressive neighbors who want our nation to make progress on paid family leave to help American families facing these deeply personal yet universal struggles.

One of the favorite quotes of pro-family advocates is from Mother Theresa:  “What can you do to promote world peace?” She famously asked and answered. “Go home and love your family.” Paid family leave would enable countless more people to heed Mother Theresa’s words.  And while there are many details to be determined to make it happen, evangelicals can help lead the way.

Many evangelicals express concern about the size and scope of government, but paid family leave solutions don’t need to break the bank. They do have to be prioritized, however, among competing interests. Evangelicals can help make that case. If family is as important as we know it is, the time is now to make progress in this area. It was a famous businessman, Walt Disney, who said “A man should never neglect his family for business.” Paid family leave can help make that possible for millions more American families.

Kelly M. Rosati, J.D. has been a child and family advocate for 25 years. She lives in the East Mountains of New Mexico.