I deleted Facebook from my phone last week, finding that my ability to stay present with my people was being inhibited by the steady flow of bad news.
Apparently in the interim, things got a little worse, with the rage and violence escalating in some places as people navigate what change looks like. I've read a few books in the last season that offer a sad commentary on the results of violent change (The Fear, Animal Farm, The Hiding Place), so it's easy to see all of this unrest in the country and feel a little afraid.
However, fear is an emotion that children pick up on very easily, and so I want to share a few proactive ways to overcome our fears and stay present with our children.
1.Don't Feed Fear- If the news is making you feel afraid, turn it off. We can get a quick update as needed, but fear sells, and we don't need to be one of its customers. Feed your mind with hopeful declarations, beautiful literature, and Psalms instead (Psalm 37 is my anchor in this season).
2. Change Your Mind- The other night I was complaining about our broken dishwasher and vacuum cleaner, muttering little frustrations about trying to keep the house clean while I wait for warranty repair. My oldest daughter said to me, "Be Ma. Be brave. Guide us through."
This was literature code for being brave and cheerful in the face of difficulty. Ma watched the crops get eaten by grasshoppers, one of her children lose her sight to disease, and her husband fail to return home while a blizzard raged, but she remained cheerful and brave in the face of difficulties. We can too. It just takes counting our blessings instead of listing our woes.
3. Plant a garden- In the end of the book, The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom says that she knew that people had started to forgive their oppressors when they began to garden. It was a sign of mental health and hope in humanity that they could offer to take some fresh carrots to the same people who had reported them to the Nazi police during the war. They stopped wishing violence on their oppressors and turned to love and generosity as they tilled the soil.
Grab the Garden Guide for garden inspired learning with your preschool and kindergarten students.
4. Pray- We sow what we reap, and while we can all agree that racism is abhorrent, and police brutality condemnable, we will never create something beautiful through violence. Too many people are victimized in the process. If we want to see change, whether it's racial reconciliation, physical health, or just peace in our homes, prayer is the place to start, and then, led by the Holy Spirit, we can take action that produces the fruits of gentleness, hope, and peace in our homes and our nation.
5. Do the next thing- For me this week, it's getting a handle on some organization issues, for you it might be reading a new book to your children, but when times are hard, whether the hard of a difficult pregnancy, or the hard of a nation in distress, the best thing that we can do is the next right thing to make our own small world a better place.
Join me in a tidy up challenge to make our homes more inviting places for learning!
Are you feeling afraid to start homeschooling? After 23 years, two college graduates, and a Coast Guard honor grad, I can see that it works! I'd love to help you get started, so please reach out with any questions about how to start.