What About the Children?

Well…it’s over. But it’s not over. The decisions that were made in the voting booth will ring loudly for the next four years. Some are happy. Some are sad. But now we move forward. And with hesitancy and uncertainty and a pit in the stomach, many ask the question, “What do we tell the children?”

Specifically, people are asking this relating to Donald Trump. How do I explain this to him? To her? To them? He’s done this and said that. Things that make our skin crawl.

And if we’re being honest, it’s a question we’d also be asking if the election went the other direction.

If we were looking at a President-elect Hillary Clinton, the same questions would be swirling. Let’s face it…both candidates are flawed. Really flawed. Morally and ethically flawed. Can I get an amen?

And as I think about the babies and children sleeping innocently in their beds, I think this is what we tell them.

Tell them sometimes things happen we don’t understand and can’t explain. Sometimes good. Sometimes not so good. We all made a choice and cast our votes, but we’re not in control.

It’s a scary feeling, being out of control, so we can use this time to help them learn to manage fear and deal with their emotions in a healthy way.

The only thing we ever truly have control over is ourselves, and that’s only on a good day. So we need to choose our own actions wisely and keep educating them how to be different.

To Love…..To be abundant in giving of their time. In helping others. To be kind with their words and to overflow with goodness.

To be generous with every sacred decision to live love, to show grace, to extend mercy. To everyone.

We can tell them to look for the good. Each of us, and I do mean every single one of us, is flawed. Faulty. Imperfect in one way or another.

It’s easy to look at someone else and see the dirt. It takes true character to dig for gold.

So teach them to look past the flesh and grime and gunk and find something beautiful. Every human being is born with value. Even Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton. With some people you just have to dig a little deeper to find it.

And we must let them know we can’t see into the future. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We may have some thoughts. Concerns. Hopes. Fears. Dreams. Nightmares. But to actually know in detail what’s going to happen in the days and years to come, we don’t have that power.

What I do know is this: God is already in our tomorrow, and He calls it good. And no matter what happens, God will take care of us. He will not abandon His people. We’re going to be okay.

And in four years, we get to do this all over again.

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