Thursday, April 25, 2013

really live.

i read the news this morning and it left me sickened.
bombing suspects mother thinks he was framed... four jail guards impregnated by inmate...kidnapped boy freed by his mother...barge explodes killing four....

it is so overwhelming.
how do we explain these things to our children?
how do we protect them from the horrors that are out there?
like the rest of the world, i'm still stunned by the boston bombings, reeling from the idea that something so celebratory could turn into something so gruesome.
my children are still young but old enough now to start remembering these things.
how will it shape them/scar them?

my oldest asks questions daily about the bombers...why did they want to hurt us?  why don't they like americans?  why do they think they'll go to heaven?  why did they hurt those people? 
and the most important one of all: will they try to hurt me?

the only thing i can do is to redirect him to the Lord.
i encourage him to pray about it.
i encourage him to share his fears and questions with God.
i encourage him to continue to love others as Jesus asks us to do.
i encourage him to live his life without fear, to live his life as he needs to, and to live, to really truly live.

2 comments:

Shannon said...

I saw the same horrible headlines as soon as I turned on the computer this morning and then I get a call from my husband who just found out his best friend has died. It's so hard not to ask why all the time and wonder why there is so much darkness that seems to happen all at once. I too just try to remember to live each day to the fullest. I needed this post this morning, thank you!

Unknown said...

I struggle with this too. How do I explain the world to my sweet innocent kiddos who think everything is unicorns and rainbows. I am trying to hold onto the child-like innocence as long as possible. We don't watch the news on TV that often, but I really struggle with protecting/sheltering them or explaining that we live in a dark world. They hear about the Light constantly, but with that, we tend to downplay the dark. I'm not sure we make the right choice all the time...