It's a scary time for young people.

 

Some of us are old enough to remember the classroom "duck-and-cover" nuclear attack drills of the Cold War Era.  It's important for today's parents and caregivers of children, preteens, and teens to remember that this era has its own share of bewildering things to process.

Today's young people practice "active-shooter drills."  They also have the COVID crisis, the crisis at our southern border, the recent crisis in Afghanistan, and the 20-year remembrance of 9/11 to make sense of.  It's a scary time for young people. 

I think that the anniversary of 9/11 is a good opportunity to remind young people of something that the beloved Fred Rogers was told by his mom. Mister Rogers said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

While this advice is inappropriate for grownups (since we are supposed to be the "helpers"), it’s still great advice for young children and preteens. They need reassurance that God is still in control, and that there are still good, caring people in the world seeking to make the world a safer and better place for them.

As the media replays those horrible images of 9/11 on TV and YouTube, parents and caregivers can help young people look past all of that ugliness to see the good that God does through people in the midst of tragedy.

In the middle of the panic, terror, confusion, and sorrow that our nation felt on that day and in the days and weeks that followed, we got to see heroes of every shape, size and walk of life going to the aid of others. By helping young people see that, you can be a “helper” too.

September 11 can also be a time to remind young people that:

1. God is in control and that God is good.  There are plenty of evil people, planning evil things, but God is good and will ultimately redeem even the worst things for good (Romans 8:28 & John 16:33).  
2. God offers us safety, security, and compassion amidst chaos and sorrow.  Throughout the Bible, God is "the God who sees us" (Genesis 16:13), and God is "the God who hears us" (Psalm 17:6 & Psalm 55:22).
3. When we mourn, God mourns with us.  God is close to the broken-hearted (Psalm 34:18 & I Peter 5:7).
4. A great irony of tragedy is how tragedy can bring out the very best in people.  God often gives hope, unity, courage, and a tender heart to people who experience tragedy together (I Peter 3:8, John 15:12, & II Corinthians 1:3-4).
5. God has a better world planned for us.  This present world is just a shadow of the New Creation that God has promised to His people (Revelation 21:4 & Psalm 46:1-3).  This truth should give all Jesus-followers hope and comfort (John 16:33).

Besides sharing these perspectives, it is also vital to sit down with young people and ask how they are feeling about these events, what they think about them, and to listen to their perspectives.  I learn a lot from the teenagers that I work with... and even more from younger children.  Their insights are priceless, and we adults have the wisdom, age, and experience to help young people see the world through a clearer and less scary lens.

As important as it is to listen to our children, though, we need to pray with them and for them because God - the Father of all - is listening to us as well.