Mommas, I’m going to be really honest and vulnerable with you right now: the world that we live in absolutely terrifies me when I think about it too much.
Mass shootings, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, human trafficking, the opioid epidemic – the list goes on and on. Most days I seem to avoid turning on the news because I can’t always handle the realities of this fallen world.
So what do we do? How do we, as moms, raise our children to become happy and successful adults when some days it seems like the world, as we know it, is erupting in violence and turmoil all around us?
To be honest with you, I don’t know the best answer to that question. Some days, the world seems like such a dark and scary place that I just want to take my little family deep into some old bomb shelter and lock ourselves away, but that’s not the answer, and I’m realizing more and more that the only way to combat darkness is with light.
I will never have the ability to fully protect my family from evil and I cannot guarantee their safety even as we just simply walk down the street, but I can try to teach my children that love will always win. Light will always outshine the darkness. Even when the unthinkable happens goodness, kindness, and love emerge from the horrific debris.
Just think about 9/11, for instance. Yes, that was one of the most horrific events this world has ever seen, but from the ashes of those burning buildings emerged countless stories of heroism, sacrifice, and love. I cannot prevent these types of events from occurring, and I certainly don’t have the power to change the past, but I do have the ability to teach my children the importance of loving thy neighbor through these stories.
I want to raise my children to be the kind of people who value the lives of everyone, regardless of their differences. I want to raise my children to extend a helping hand in times of need. I want to take these terrifying events and turn them on their head so that the point isn’t about a few evil people existing in this world; the point is that, in spite of that evil, goodness and love blossomed through the thousands of people who banned together to help.
Now, obviously, some of these topics are just a little too heavy for your 2-year-old to handle, but these lessons of loving, accepting, and helping others starts simply with leading by example. Those sweet little eyes are always watching us, mommas, so it’s up to us to show them the way. It’s as simple as taking some cookies to the new family who moved into your neighborhood, extending a smile and “hello” to strangers you pass by in the store, or teaching your kids to open the door for someone as you walk into the post office.
Those little acts of kindness turn into big acts of love as the years pass on. We may never be able to stop something truly tragic from occurring, but you darn well better believe that we can light up the world with love one little baby step at a time. Truly believing that we are all capable of raising kind, loving, and helpful children is the hope that I’m clinging on to in this big scary world.
