Hey Families!
As it’s likely the effects of the Coronavirus are going to impact us increasingly through the weeks and months ahead, I’ve been considering how might a family team respond to this crisis?
We should seek to lead our families through how to respond first spiritually, then emotionally, and finally physically.
Spiritually: It’s important to sit down as a family and discuss how believers in Jesus in general and how our family in particular plan to react. Do we panic? Do we downplay the risk? Our faith must come alive especially in times like this, but what does that look like?
What makes us unique as believers is not that we have the secret of avoiding all tragedy but that we have within us a different spirit. “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” That spirit is not active through wishful thinking but through trust. Our trust comes from the knowledge that we are perfectly loved by our Heavenly Father, “perfect love drives out fear.”
Emotionally: Once we have built up our faith it’s important to face all of our emotions.
Let your kids process how they are feeling.
Process your feelings in front of your kids.
But don’t let emotions have the last word.
Pray through your emotions.
Do this with your family.
That’s what has been modeled to us through the Psalms.
“Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him.’ But you, Lord, are a shield around me” (Ps 3)
Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed. (Ps 57)
“I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge” Ps 91
And finally decide how your family will respond physically.
Many families are far too dependent on the government or the school system to tell them what to do. Find reliable sources of information and sound recommendations, and use this as an opportunity to train your kids. What is your family’s policy about:
- Hand washing
- Physical contact
- Attending events
Family teams are not passive in the face of challenges. We know our family’s mission and take decisive action to lead and protect our families.
Clear leadership is often the difference between being the kind of family where a crisis draws you closer together or drives you farther apart.
May God bless each of your families as you face the coming days with bold trust.
This entry is a part of Jeremy’s Journal, a newsletter Jeremy sends out every Wednesday morning to encourage you on your parenting journey. You can sign up to get them every Wednesday here.
