This article originally appeared at Risen Motherhood on September 28, 2020. Read the entire article at this link.
How Do I Talk to My Kids About Sorrow?
As featured at Risen Motherhood
It can be tempting to scoot our kids past their sadness. While the Bible doesn’t mince words about the sorrows we’ll face in this world, it can be a hard topic to talk about. Even so, the Scriptures encourage us to remember that life lived under the sun is one lived under the curse—and while sin remains, sorrows will come. Therefore, our loving, biblically-informed guidance about how to interpret these painful realities can help them learn how to weep with hope.
We show respect for our children by acknowledging their tears. Their sorrow is an opportunity to help them pause, reflect, and engage their hurting heart with God. They need encouragement that sadness is not something strange—it persists because death, pain, crying, and mourning have not yet passed away.[1] Kids sense this brokenness, but lack a redemptive worldview of it. Sorrow, then, can become a precious opportunity to point our children back to our Savior—Jesus Christ—the Man of Sorrows who makes broken things new.
We show respect for our children by acknowledging their tears. Their sorrow is an opportunity to help them pause, reflect, and engage their hurting heart with God. They need encouragement that sadness is not something strange—it persists because death, pain, crying, and mourning have not yet passed away.[1] Kids sense this brokenness, but lack a redemptive worldview of it. Sorrow, then, can become a precious opportunity to point our children back to our Savior—Jesus Christ—the Man of Sorrows who makes broken things new.
Forewarning our kids about the realities of sorrow can forearm them to face it by faith. Christ said these seasons would come, and that we would find comfort, hope, and peace by looking to him when they do.
Christine M. Chappell
Author • Writer • Podcast Host
Christine Chappell is the author of Clean Home, Messy Heart, Help! My Teen is Depressed, Help! I've Been Diagnosed with a Mental Disorder (forthcoming with Shepherd Press early 2021), and Midnight Mercies: Hope for the Dark Hours of Motherhood (forthcoming with P&R Publishing in fall 2021.) She acts as the host of IBCD's Hope + Help Podcast as well as the organization's Outreach Director. Christine is passionate about advocating for biblical one-another care and discipleship in the context of the local church, and her writing has been featured at Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, Risen Motherhood, and other Christian platforms. Christine blogs regularly at christinemchappell.com and lives in South Carolina with her husband and three children.
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