5 Truths Your Child Needs to Know in an Unsafe World

Friends,

Meet Julie Sanders. We became friends a few years ago when God brought us together on The Mom Initiative Team. Julie has a tender and quiet spirit but don’t let that fool you. Julie is a fierce prayer warrior with an unshakable faith ! This article will move you to teach your kids 5 truths that will encourage their trust in God and… as an added bonus Julie shares a prayer for back to school safety. Julie Sanders and Christen Price (both Mom Initiative mentors and personal friends) have created and just released, The ABCs of Praying for Students . You can find out more about their book at the end of this article. And discover how you can qualify to win a free copy! : 5 Truths Your Child Needs to Know in an Unsafe World. Enjoy!
Blessings,
Lori

5 Truths Your Child Needs to Know in an Unsafe World by Julie Sanders

I looked up from my desk to see the principal in the doorway with my mother. After hushed conversations, they took my hand and led me to the hallway where I joined my sister. Escorted to our car, we drove home and hurried inside behind locked doors and drawn curtains until a guard arrived. We weren’t wealthy or important, but my dad was a manager for a business involved in a labor dispute. A caller making kidnapping threats led to our extraction and my first encounter with life in an unsafe world.

Long before safety officers kept watch over schools or Twitter feeds reported shootings, school felt like a safer place. Increasing violence adds anxiety for parents leaving little ones on school campuses. As a new school year begins, who is watching our children when we can’t be there?

The Bible describes the power of God’s eyes to watch everything on earth, to pay attention to all activities of all individuals. It’s beyond our comprehension how He is capable of that, since it’s easy for us to lose sight of toddlers or lose track of teenagers. But the truth is, “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3)

We wish we could see everything around our precious children and influence their environment every moment, but even the most loving parents live with limitations. Not only are our kiddos precious in His sight, but they are always in His sight.

It’s tempting to try and do what only God can do, this “seeing all the time in all places” super power. New technology has taken baby monitors to a whole new level, where we can watch and listen to and track our children in more places than ever before. It might give us the illusion of control, but even the most loving parents live with limitations.

Our Heavenly Father is not only unlimited in His love, but He is unlimited in His capacity to see and listen to the lives of our littles. “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry,” (Psalm 34:15). His eyes are on them and His ears are attentive.

Big sigh of relief.

When the labor dispute was over, the guard left our front porch and I went back to class. “Who will watch over me?” I wondered. My mom was just learning what it meant to trust in Jesus and put her hope in her Heavenly Father’s gaze. As a mom myself, now, I’m sure she stayed home and prayed. The same one who watched me every day would keep watching every day after and through every night. “The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,” (Psalm 33:18).

Back to School season reminds us of our need to trust God’s ability to watch our children and to trust what He allows in their lives. Even when we leave our student, God stays. Psalm 121 tells us why God is the source of help our children can look to.

Here are 5 truths our kids need to know and believe in a world that is unsafe.

God watches over us and does not sleep or get drowsy.
God watches over us and provides a safe place.
God watches over our life.
God watches our arrivals and our departures.
God watches over us now and always will.

We can’t see or know all that will happen in our child’s school world, but we can pray persistently for God’s care over them and hope in his unfailing love.

Knowing God will never leave our children helps us (and our children) trust Him.

A Prayer for Back to School Safety

Dear Heavenly Father,

I’m so grateful You never get tired or distracted. You faithfully watch over my children with power to pay attention like I can’t begin to understand. Thank You for Your commitment to watch and keep watching, being unrelentless in seeing when I can’t see, knowing more than I know. Help me rest this school year and lean into trusting You for my child’s safety.

Relieved, Amen.

How has this post encouraged, impacted, or changed you and your prayers or parenting? Leave your response in the comment section and be eligible to win The ABCs of Praying for Students.

Julie Sanders has been a teacher and education leader for thirty years. She now works with Live Global developing indigenous ministry leaders cross-culturally. She loves Back to School season and how it prompts us to pray. Julie writers from her blog home here and is the author of The ABCs of Praying for Students, available at Christen Price Studio.

Book Description: The ABCs of Praying for Students includes 26 devotions sourced in scripture and arranged by letters in the alphabet. Practical ideas for how to apply truth are included, with Table Talk starters to help conversations with students of all ages flow from the character qualities. The most powerful thing we can do for our students will never be found on a school supply list. The ABCs of Praying for Students will help you engage what your child’s education needs most — the power of your prayers at work.