Along with the rest of our nation, I have been watching, grieving, praying, and trying to wrap my mind around the events of the last few weeks.
In thinking about my responsibility as a Christian to actively respond to this injustice, hatred, and sin… I didn’t feel called to necessarily voice where I stand, because it should be obvious, but I will.
I follow Jesus and I believe God’s word to be true. Therefore, I stand with LIFE. The sinful thought that one life is more valuable than others because of the color of skin, is so FAR from the truth and it grieves my heart just as it grieves the heart of my Heavenly Father. The hurt, hatred, anger, and sin that dwells in the hearts of many is the only explanation for the unjust and violent acts that we are witnessing today. This is a sinful and broken aspect of the history of mankind and there is no excuse, no worthy explanation, but there is HOPE in the promise that we serve a JUST God.
The desire that stirs in our hearts for justice is put there by our Creator. We are called to seek justice (Isaiah 1:17) and in a broken world, we are designed to long for a perfectly restored new creation. We are also called to love mercy, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). Our desire for justice is intended to push us to action and grow our faith in the Lord and His promises (Psalm 37:8-9).
In thinking about my responsibility as an educated white woman in this nation to actively respond to this injustice, hatred, and sin, I knew that a social media post wouldn’t be sufficient and I felt helpless as to what to do. I prayed for the Lord to reveal to me what I could DO and I’m thankful for many gospel-centered resources and organizations that already exist specifically for this mission and I have partnered with several of them.
Then the Lord reminded me of my first ministry being to my family and He brought the teaching from Proverbs 22:6 to my mind.
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” - Proverbs 22:6
As their mother, the Lord has granted me this opportunity at this point in history to either PROTECT them from the hurt and destruction that has engulfed our nation today or to EQUIP them to be a tool in the hands of God to bring restoration and peace to the hurting.
In my flesh, I don’t want them to hear the stories, see the images, or feel the sorrow that comes from knowing this brokenness exists. My husband and I intentionally raise our children in the truth of God’s word and as it pertains to differences in our appearances, we have raised them to SEE the differences and to celebrate how God’s image is uniquely & beautifully displayed in our varying appearance. We talk about skin color just like we talk about curly or straight hair, eye color, and body size. God’s image is so magnificent, so glorious, and awe-inspiring that it couldn’t possibly be properly displayed through one individual appearance.
Prayerfully, we talked to our children about the current events and God was glorified and I pray He continues to be glorified through the lives of the children He has stewarded to Andrew and me to raise. After this experience, God began to pull at my heart to equip my peers to have this same conversation. It has been heavy on my heart and God has not lifted this burden to share our experience so here it is.
As you watch the video and look over the printable resource, please know this is not a ONE SIZE fits all approach. God has called YOU to parent your children. The first step is to PRAY and I trust that when you do, God will guide you to personalize this for your family and to your children depending on their age, maturity level, and the posture of their hearts. The conversation is hard, it doesn’t have to be perfect, and it won’t be the same conversation for each family or with each child, but biblically, the conversation does need to happen. We are called to disciple and equip our children and this moment in our nation's history is a perfect opportunity to strategically do that. You can follow this link to the resources page to download and print the conversation guide with the outline and scripture you hear in the video.