How to Parent When The World Is Crashing Down Around You

I’m wondering if every generation feels like the world is crashing down around them. As a homeschool mom of four boys, I have enjoyed teaching them about history and if there is one thing that the past has taught us, it’s that there is always something that feels heavy or threatening in the world around us and yet the world keeps on turning.

Parenting, in general, has its challenges. Add in all the current drama from politics, mandates, masks, vaccines, school choice decisions, and general division in the world around us, and the idea of bubble wrapping our kids and escaping to a remote island sounds good.

Be a Light on a Hill

The only problem with that is that God tells us to be a light on a hill. He assures us that He has good plans for us. (And our kids!) He asks us to trust in Him and not in man. Let’s be brave in our parenting, stalwart in our faith, and abound in hope just as Romans 15:13 encourages us to do:

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (NASB)

You see, even though the world can feel threatening, we have a good God who is for us and does not want us to live in fear or negativity. When our fears or feelings of overwhelm begin to flood our hearts and minds, try these simple biblical parenting practices to regain joy and hope.

Simple Practices to Help You Reclaim Joy and Hope

1) Start every day with gratitude. Our kids enjoy keeping a running tab on a whiteboard on the wall in our schoolroom of things we are thankful for.

2) Mute the noise and turn up the praise. If the news cycle puts you into a cycle of fear and frustration, turn it off. Focus on the things that are good and true and be intentional to praise God for all your blessings--like running water and new shoes!

3) Spend an evening over the dinner table or on the way to school sharing with one another the things that you have seen God be faithful to in the past. Discuss how God has brought you through other challenging circumstances and allow the remembrance to bolster your faith for the future.

4) Seek out ways to be a peacemaker. If peace is lacking, initiate ways to create peace in your home or neighborhood. Drop encouraging notes in mailboxes on your street, set up a day where you “catch” one another doing good to one another in your home, or simply play classical music and light a candle out of reach to help create a soothing mood in your home.

5) Memorize a verse as a family--like Romans 15:13 above. There is nothing more helpful for right-thinking than the Word of God being planted in our hearts!

When the world feels like it’s crashing down, we don’t need to crash with it. Invite God to give you hope, joy, and peace. He will always deliver. The one who holds the whole world in His hands will never let the righteous fall. Our hearts will rise with His hope as we trust in Him and our children will learn to do the same for the next generation.

Blessings,

Amber Lia