Navigating Bad News

God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.  Psalm 46:2
​

Considering Sunday’s tragedy here in Michigan along with many others across the country recently, I wrote this piece to help families navigate the bad news together.  It has appeared in Faith Catholic Magazine and on the Catholic Mom website, but I also wanted to share it here because it seems we aren’t going to run out of bad things to challenge our trust, test our faith and crinkle up our joy!
​
God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.  Psalm 46:2
Technology has a way of zooming world events right into our lap at warp speed and the front row seat we seem to have isn’t always the best seat in the house especially when the news is frightening and discouraging so this month, we offer some ideas for navigating tough news and events with our kids.
Be The Town Crier: When the news is tough, it’s always better coming from someone who is loved and trusted.  Delivering tough news should come in five steps. First, pray to the Holy Spirit before you speak, asking for wisdom and guidance. Second, give the facts in an age-appropriate way.  Base vocabulary on age and maturity, for example someone was shot vs someone was hurt.  Third, answer the questions; as many as you can, as truthfully as you can and I don’t know, or I don’t understand it are good answers. Fourth, call out God’s promises; he is good, he will protect, he will guide, he is powerful and mighty, he is trustworthy.  Fifth, PRAY! Pray for the hurting and those who love the hurting and those who will help the hurting.
Use The Anchors:  The anchor steadies the ship, and God is our anchor in the storms of life.  Two powerful parts of that anchor are HOPE and TUST.  We hope in him, and we trust him because we know God is unchanging, God is compassionate, and God is merciful.  Talk about times when your family trusted God in tough times and he steadied, blessed and guided you.
It’s Not Random: God is not random, and he makes himself known in both good and bad situations. Only he is aware of the good that will come from unspeakably difficult situations. Lean on scripture and past experiences to illustrate his faithfulness.  Imagine how things would have changed if Joseph’s brothers hadn’t sold him into slavery to the Egyptians. It’s our job to trust and hope in his plan, it’s not our job to approve or understand it all.
The Big Pair; Truthfulness & Faithfulness: In a world of misinformation, we need to seek the truth.  If they are old enough, teach your kids how to search for it from reliable, trustworthy sources and allow them to ask questions and form ideas and opinions.  Navigate the news through a biblical and faithful lens.  Allow them to look up the places and people on a map to add to their knowledge and perspective.  The presence of evil in the world is age old and including this truth in your conversation with older kids is important to grow in understanding of the mighty works of God.  Evil works in the dark; misinformation, despair, fear and panic and these things are not of God.  It is a tough conversation but so necessary to understand the truth about the Father and his love for us.
That Helpless Feeling: Bad news and tragedy can leave us feeling helpless so tackling this feeling can bring peace.  Find out what agencies or groups are on the ground helping and see how you might assist them.  Taking kids to Mass or to church to light a candle or pray a rosary can create a feeling of helpfulness.  Contacting a Religious Order that accepts prayer requests or inviting friends to pray together will highlight our privilege and responsibility to be intercessory prayers and help us teach our children that we have to lift our eyes to the Father and trust.
 
A Seed To Plant:  Gather as a family and share a grace or blessing and pray together for peace and healing and the protection of St. Michael the Archangel.