These have been tough times: too much water, too much cold, too much drought and fire in the north, tremors and tornadoes everywhere. Everything is extreme.
The compounding of these things from one year to the next threatens our livelihood and our way of life. Anxiety and despair hang over us like a dark shadow.
What is true for ourselves is also true for our children. They may not understand how this erosion works, but they can sense things are not as they should be. And the teenagers act out their fears through fits of anger, or they withdraw into themselves and find their own means of escape.
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An interesting piece of advice comes from the earliest pages of the Bible. When the Hebrews finally arrived on the border of their promised land, Joshua gave the people an order to take stones and build a marker.
For the adults it was a reminder of the struggle they had while escaping the Egyptians to wander in the desert for such a long time. As well, the adults were firmly commanded to tell the stories of what happened to their children.
“Tell the children” so they will know the difficulties we’ve faced while God supported us all the way.
How easy it is to try to protect our children from difficulties. Regretfully, when we do that we rob them of part of their history.
Life isn’t a bowl of cherries, but when they know that their families faced tough times in the past, and survived, they will find strength to know what happens when people work together, with the encouragement of God’s spirit.
How else will the children’s spirits be nurtured so they can move forward with vision and hope?
Joyce Sasse writes for the Canadian Rural Church Network at www.canadian ruralchurch.net.
