Explaining Evil to My Child

Just the other day...I had to tell my nine year old about the bombing in Boston. Actually, I thought I was telling her for the first time, but as it turns out, she heard just a snippet of it from the TV before her daddy realized it was on.

There's something about looking in the face of an innocent child and trying to explain such evil. It's like trying to explain the universe. Some things will always be just beyond the human capacity to understand. Two brothers planting bombs in trash cans at a sporting event, that's unbelievable to me, much less to her. Even though I've seen the videos and watched the news, it's still hard to grasp.

Tears trickled down my face as I told her about the tragedy, and I spared her a ton of details, mind you. I told her people were killed and others were injured very badly...that some would never be able to walk or run again. It hurt so much to see the pain in her little face.

With every ounce of my being, I wish this was not the world she had to face...the world any of our children had to face. When I was young, I feared kidnapping and the weather (think - school tornado drills), but beyond that, I don't think I had a care in the world.

Like many of you, I feel like I hardly know how to prepare my children. But I know God gave me a glimpse that day...

Towards the end of our conversation, I had the overwhelming sense that I needed to take her hand and pray with her for our nation. As I took her hand, she leaned into me and we just sat hugging one another.

I prayed hard and I prayed long and I let the tears flow. The more I prayed, the faster the words came, and when I said "amen", something had changed...for she and I both.

We had HOPE.

You see, last week, I wrote that sometimes we can look too long at the bad. When we make it our focus, evil seems to grow.

The Bible tells us in 2 Cor 4:8-9:

"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."

and if you read on, verses 17 and 18 say this:

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

My hope...your hope...our children's hope...this nation's hope, is found only in the One who is unseen! He who formed the stars and counts hairs on each head, He who knows the words that will be spoken even before they are on the lips, He who knows all our beginnings and all our endings...HE...the Lord God, maker of Heaven and Earth...HE...the One and only Messiah...

HE . IS . OUR . ONLY . HOPE!!!

We need to be on our knees before Him, daily, seeking mercy for a country that has gone wayward. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, it is clear that He hears the cries of His people...and not only does He hear...He responds.

I'll tell you quite honestly that I have not been praying for this country as I should. But given the recent conversations I've had to have with my children about school shootings and marathon bombings, I think it's high time I wake up and take a good look out over the horizon...because it's looking dimmer and dimmer.

I know it is on the heart of God to bless and restore this country, but He is a gentleman and does not come where He is not invited. And I wonder...how many of us are inviting Him? Have we given in? Have we looked at the evil so long, we have surrendered to it?

I, for one, want my children years from now to be talking about the great move of God that hit this country when they were young...not lamenting happy childhoods that fell prey to fear as a country turned its back on the One True God.

I refuse to give in to evil...for my children...my family...for you.

I'm hitting the battlefield on my knees for this country.

Join me?

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

 That I would see the goodness of the Lord

 In the land of the living." Psalm 27:13

Linking up at:

Growing Home, The Better Mom, Time Warp Wife, Women Living Well, Missional Women, and Raising Homemakers

For His glory,

In the Face of Pain

Photo of Bible belonging to Billy Graham (taken at the BG Library in Charlotte, NC)

Just the other day...there were shootings in theaters and schools, bombings at marathons, hijacking of airplanes, and a horrific day when towers fell. Someone lost their five year old, precious daughter who had just learned to read. Another, their son, who had brought home straight A's on his report card. Still another lost a father who had been the proud recipient of a "World's Best Dad" mug last Father's Day. And for another family, there is a lost mother, one full of hopes and dreams, the longings of her heart now existing only in treasured memories and tattered journals. Sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, friends...gone.

So much loss. So much hatred. So much evil.

I've known something of pain in my lifetime...of waking up to a new reality and how loss can hurt to the core. The sin of another individual or group brings consequences and ripple effects and leaves far more damage in its wake than sometimes seems bearable. If a soul can actually ache, it happens in times like these...when there's so much loss, to stay in bed and hide under the covers seems the only reasonable response.

Hurt like that always begs the question...God, where are You?

I can tell you only what I know.

He is near.

He has not left. He has not abandoned us. He is not distancing Himself, nor is He removing His hand.

He is the best counselor and friend one could ask for, sitting with us in our pain...mourning with us...waiting until we are strong enough to move forward, encouraging us every step of the way. He helps us through dark times and what's even better, for those that love Him, He takes what the enemy meant for evil and turns it around for good!

Only God can take the darkest moments of our lives and turn them into tales of triumph!

In such times, whether in personal pain or struggling through heartbreak as a nation, we make things worse when we focus so much on the bad, on the hurt. Stare at it too long, and bitterness, anger, and depression will invade every space in the human heart that can be found. Bitterness will steal our joy. Anger will fester. Depression will become as destructive as death itself.

The very best thing for us to do...as simplistic as it may sound...is to follow in the footsteps of our Savior and walk down the path of complete forgiveness. Easier said than done, right? I know. I have been there...and because I've been there I can tell you, it is necessary. Limp, stumble, fall down the path if you have to, but forgive...and when you try to pick up bitterness and harbor anger again...forgive one more time. When depression knocks at your door because of the evil you have experienced, answer it with forgiveness. Today, tomorrow, and the day after that, forgive...again and again...as much as it takes.

For the kind of love that triumphs over evil is this kind of love...the love Christ modeled for us when He willingly suffered excruciating pain so we could know the sweet taste of forgiveness ourselves.

Today, when you wonder where God is or what good can possibly come of such tragedies...remember 2000 years ago, there was a dark day in history when all hope seemed lost. The God-man spilled His blood, breathed His last, and was placed in a sealed tomb. For a moment, it seemed to all that yes, evil had the upper hand.

Then Sunday came...

the day Christ walked out of the grave, victorious, securing our freedom for all eternity!!!

Ultimately, for a Christ-follower, evil never wins and it can only gain a foothold in your life if you let it. Don't let it.

Forgive.

Love.

Love even though it hurts.

Turn from bitterness in the face of tragedy. Rest in the fact that God is near, ever-present and ready to help in times of need. Know that if you love Him, turn to Him, and commit it all to Him...He will turn even the most horrific evil into good...miraculously...as only He can.

______________________

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." Matthew 6:14 

Linking up at:

Missional Women

For His glory,