This weekend we talked about why bad things happen to good people. There are layers upon layers to this question. In worship our time focused on evil and the gift/responsibility of free will.
I am always struck by the amazing love God has for us that we are invited into a relationship rather than a list of rules that make up a religion. With free will we are given the choice to accept or reject God. It is up to us to foster the relationship. It is up to us to choose if we are going to build community with our neighbor or break down the ties with our neighbor. In the wake of school shootings, headlines filled with hurt and other things that break the heart of God we know that we sometimes we don’t have words to express why. In particular we don’t know how to talk about the tragic evil that we all (regardless of age) with our children and those who we tend to think about as the innocent in our society. Below is a list of some resources that we have gotten together from my pastoral resources, faithpoint members and health professionals to talk with your kids about how to talk about greif and loss.
Books:
Water Bugs and Dragonflies: Explaining Death to Young Children
to download:
SAMHSA_ParentTipsPreschoolChildrenDisasters
SAMHSA_ParentTipsSchoolChildrenDisasters
SAMHSA_TipsTalkingChildrenYouthTraumaticEvents
Tips_for_Adults_on_How_to_Talk_with_Children_About_Connecticut_School_Shooting
Links