Discipling our Kids in the Face of Tragedy
In the last couple of weeks, families in Buffalo and Uvalde have experienced unspeakable tragedy. Children and adults were killed in two separate mass shooting events. As an adult, my heart grieves and my mind is confused as I try to make sense of these precious lives lost through murder, evil, and violence. But what about our kids? How do we as Christian adults disciple our children in the face of tragedy? Our temptation may be to ignore having hard conversations with them, but may I suggest we engage our children in age appropriate ways to shed light on the evil, sin, and brokenness of the world and to encourage their little hearts with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our only hope in life and death.
During Easter, we use a book called “Holy Week: An Emotions Primer” to help kids understand the emotions of Jesus in the last week of His life. Borrowing from that idea, it is helpful to engage kids in how they might be feeling, give them space to process, and encourage them with Gospel truth. Your child might be feeling:
Confused - Talk to your child about what happened in age appropriate ways. These conversations are important for children to build trust with their parents and identify their parents as safe places to receive information and ask questions. We want our children to know they can come to us when happy, scary, or sad things happen. Your child may ask why things like this happen. “Evil” is a helpful word to introduce. “Evil” acts oppose God and are born out of sinful hearts. Everyone is born a sinner, meaning they oppose God and want to do things their own way. In these events, we have seen two people act in their sin and with evil intent by hurting other people.
Sad - Give your child time to process what they have heard. They are rightly grieved at what has taken place. After allowing some space, open your Bible and show your child examples of when our Savior was sad about things that He was right to be sad about. Pray for the families who have lost people in these tragedies to be comforted by the Holy Spirit, because we know they are sad too.
Scared - What has happened in Buffalo and Uvalde is scary. Remind your kids that even though we can’t control what happens in the future, we can trust in the One who does. Jesus is good and in charge - that means someone good is in charge. Those who trust in Christ can have hope in every circumstance. Talk to them about what to do if they ever find themselves in a situation where they are not safe and remind them that they can share their own temptations and struggles with you.
Hopeful - We can have hope because God sent Jesus to save us from our sins. We can be forgiven fully, freely, and forever if we turn away from our sin and follow Jesus. This doesn’t mean we will never sin again, but it means God will help us fight our sin and look more like Jesus, who never sinned. Pray for people in your life to believe that Jesus came to save sinners.
Remember, you don’t have to have all the answers. Simply having a conversation, opening the Bible, and praying together allows your child to know that not only you, but God, is a safe place to run.
Other Resources:
Good News for Little Hearts Book Series
The Family Discipleship Podcast (much of the content above taken from their Instagram)
