Hate.  Bigotry.  Racism.  Refugees.  Bombings.  Hunger.  Homelessness.  Death.  Grief….

The list goes on and on and on.

How does one go about explaining to their children the dire and desperate events going on in our world today?

My sons are intuitive, intelligent, and empathetic.  Nothing much gets past them.

One of the first conversations I had with them after their dad’s death includes this promise:
“No question or circumstance is ever taboo or off the table.  If you have a question or concern, come to me.  I may not know the answer, and if I don’t, I will be perfectly honest and tell you so.  We will search for the answer together.”

I’ve held up my end of the bargain.  In the past four plus years, we’ve broached most every subject imaginable–some easier dealt with than others.  You name it, we talk about it.  With God’s help, I’ve created a safe place for them to fall, somewhere where they feel valued and loved.  Somewhere they can ask the hard questions and get real answers.

But the world events of the past month?  I have no answers for.

The three of us feel suspended in a parallel universe.  One where we’re striving to follow not only God’s words, but also the teachings of His Son.

We’re being bombarded with leaders in both political and religious arenas, spewing hate, fear, and racism, all in the name of Jesus.

The scarier part is the legions of people professing to be Christians hopping on board, right alongside them.

Evidently history is doomed to repeat itself.

Remember the Japanese internment camps inside the United States during World War II?

How about the countless Christians who stood by quietly as they watched their Jewish neighbors be systematically ridiculed, beaten, made homeless, and shipped off to concentration camps during that same period of time?

I don’t have answers for the events now shaping our world.

But God does.

When my 12 year old tells me, “Mom, my generation is pretty much screwed,” how should I reply?

The former pessimist inside would have nodded in agreement.  Praise God she doesn’t live here anymore.

Instead, I tell both he and his older brother that while yes, the circumstances of the world seem dire, they and young people like them have a unique opportunity.  They can be the light, a formidable change in this broken world.

I see the worry etched across his brow ease as my words soothe his soul.

In times such as these, all we can do is keep on keeping on.

Teach your children well.  Spend time with them in God’s word every day.  Pray with them and for them.

On our daily drive to school, I pray over each of them out loud, asking God to envelope them in his arms throughout the day.  I give them to Him as they exit my vehicle.

They leave me with a smile, a light in their eyes that hate and racism and bigotry cannot extinguish.

And the three little words I say, without fail, as they leave?

“Go with God.”

As I receive text messages while at work last week, advising parents of school lock downs as a precaution due to a shooting at a gun shop, I have no worries.  My God is bigger.

While I witness another parent worry, call, and panic over the status of her child, I remain calm.  My God is in control.

In the midst of world chaos, uncertainty, and so many wolves in sheeps’ clothing parading across social media and the political arena, I am resolute.  My God sees through the facade and is taking copious notes.

“Go with God” no matter the circumstances.

“Go with God” no matter what leaders may say.

“Go with God” for peace in the midst of the hurricane of life.

“Go with God” and never settle.

“Go with God” without any stipulations  such as “unless” or “but.”

Take Him with you every second of every day.

Go with God.