Moore, Oklahoma.

Most of our kids heard about this horrific tragedy in Moore, OK before they even got home from school yesterday.  Moments like this stir up fear, worry and so many questions in kids about safety, trust and where God is in all of this.

Here are some things to keep in mind and ways you can comfort and talk to your kids about this and other natural disasters:

• Keep the TV off of the news.  As much as we are drawn to the drama unfolding in Moore, OK, keep the television off  of programs that are showing images and details about what is happening there.  Children are very literal and have a hard time making the distinction between a storm in Oklahoma and the storms raging here in the DFW area today.
• God did not cause this.  He is Creator and Author of this universe and it makes him very sad and angry too when His children are hurt.  Your children might be asking “Why is God angry” or “Why did this happen?”.  God is angry for sure, but his anger did not cause this storm and allow all of these people to get hurt and loose family members.  The truth is that we might live in a world where bad things happen, but we can trust in Jesus for our hope and our salvation (1Peter 1:3), reiterate that we can trust God no matter what!
• God is only good. The New Testament is clear: God can’t be aligned with in evil. He is perfect, good and holy.  “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” (James 1:13)   “God is light; in him there is no darkness in him at all.” (1 John 1:5 NIrV).  The truth is that God is good, all the time.  He is pure and without evil.
• God is present.  Just like young David did not run away from Goliath, but ran straight for him, God does not run from events like these; he runs toward them.  He give strength, courage and power to all who turn and trust in him, just like David did (1 Samuel 17:45-48).  God embraces all who turn to him, and holds them in his heavenly arms during times of trouble and pain.  We are all his children and he loves us all very much.
• Teachable Moments.  Make every moment a teachable moment… but don’t get deeper than you have to.  Answer questions honestly, but don’t go into deep detail.  Older children can understand more detail, but it often isn’t necessary.  These conversations are great ways to help grow and cultivate their own relationship with Him.  We can use difficult times like this to talk to our kids about the importance of trusting Jesus no matter what circumstances surround them.
• Hope.  In 1 Corinthians 13:4-13, Paul speaks about what love really is… patient, kind, does not envy, isn’t proud or boastful, etc… What is love?  Love IS God.  Replace the word love for God in these verses and you’ve got a beautiful, perfect picture of who our God is.  I love the way verse 7 wraps it all up for us; Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.  This means as God always protects, we can trust, as he always perseveres on our behalf, we have hope!
• Pray.  Make sure that you’re praying with your kids.  Let them know that even though you might be scared too, you trust Jesus to protect all of you.
• Get Involved.  Find ways to get involved to help those in Moore.  Create a prayer calendar to pray through as a family, collect toys from home to send up north, go through your children’s dressers and closest to send clothing, have the kids do extra chores to raise money for diapers, etc… Help them to see that they can be the hands and feet of Jesus even from afar.

God is with us always.  When this world gets crazy, when bad people do bad things, when life feels out of control, God is in control.  He was there when the tornado touched down. He is there now and He will be there in the days to come.

Praying for you all~