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| Walking Through Deep Waters with our Children |  |
| Location: Blogs Leanne's Blog |
 | | Posted by: Leanne | 1/2/2007 8:31 PM | The Prophet Isaiah once wrote with great confidence, "When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you." (Isaiah 43:2, GNT)
When I read theses words I want to believe them. I want to walk boldly into the world without fear and be confident that God is with me. Unfortunately the message I keep getting--on the news, in the newspaper and from the often shared despair of my friends who find themselves becoming increasingly hopeless, depressed, anxious and disillusioned from life--is that we are not safe or protected. In fact we are in danger and could be hurt emotionally or physically at any moment.
For the sake of our children we need to find the truth of this passage--to once again learn that we are cared for and protected by God. Because if we don't, our children, who are like little emotional sponges, will soak in our fear and anxiety and become fearful and anxious instead of happy, confident and excited about life!
At my center, First Steps Spirituality Center, I help children who have faced pain and hurt find their spiritual strength. Most children come to the center after they have experienced the death of a love done or while their parents are going through a divorce or after they have gotten into trouble at school. There is usually a reason for their visit, but lately, especially after 9-11 and the start of the war, more and more children come who have no apparent reason to come. Instead they say things like, "I am just afraid," or "I can't have fun anymore because I am afraid." Instead of happy, relaxed faces, their faces are tight, tense and worried.
Children (like the rest of us) are living in fearful times, and for their sake I am trying hard, and I invite you to join me, to claim the words of Isaiah as a mantra and trying to intentionally connect my soul to the heart of God. I am trying to be very intentional in my prayer life and meditation time to allow God's truth-- that God is with me and will protect me-- to fill me so I can stop being so fearful and afraid all the time.
I want to send out vibes of peace and confidence so that the children around me will feel them and grow in them. Life is hard for children. I don't want my fear and insecurities about the future to add to their fear.
It isn't what we say to children about being confident and enjoying life--it is what we live that will either help them feel that way or create anxiety and fear in them. | | | Permalink | Trackback |
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