The past few days have filled our home with many questions, feelings and worries. It is very strange to turn on the TV or listen to the news on the radio and hear about the violence, riots and protestors. It is not something we see everyday, thankfully.
As we have been reflecting on the situation, there are some topics that keep repeating themselves. What have the discussions been like in your home? Here is a glimpse at ours:
"Aren't we suppose to listen to police officers?" Yes, yes you are. When a police officer is speaking to you and asks you to stop, you stop. When a police officer puts his lights on and wants you to pull over, you pull over. When a police officer asks you a question, you should answer it. (We will talk about getting a lawyer when they are older, but for now you should answer the question.)
"Isn't that somebody else's store?" Yes, yes it is. The building that those people just broke the windows to or have set on fire, it belongs to someone else. That building was bought with the owner's money, the supplies inside were bought with the owner's money and most likely the owner or his tenant has all of their personal items in the apartment upstairs. ......"I would be very sad if someone did that to my things. I think the owner is sad too." You are probably right dear.
"I thought there was only one race. Aren't we all just a different color of brown?" Yes, yes we are. We are all humans made by an amazing God. We are only one race, just different shades of the same color. I don't know why more people don't see it the same way.
"Why are they so mad?" That is a difficult question to answer, because I don't know them personally. However, it seems to me that they are angry because they don't agree with the decision the grand jury made. "But, when I don't get my way, I'm not allowed to start things on fire and steal things." No, no you are not. It is hard for me to say why they think this is helping. It seems to me that more people might be willing to listen to them if they weren't breaking the law.
"I just don't understand, Mommy." I know, it is very difficult to understand. But, our daily life is very different from life in the inner city. Many people in the inner city have begun to feel almost hopeless. Many of them feel that their schools are not good, so their children won't ever get a good education. They are probably frustrated with the lack of jobs in their area and lack of opportunities for their children. I imagine that if I lived in the same circumstances, I might feel trapped and not really know how to express my frustration. If you start to feel like the whole world is against you, I bet you start to feel that the police are against you too. It doesn't really matter if it is true, because in extreme situations, your perception is your reality. We are very blessed to live where we are at!
"What can we do?" Well, I am not really sure what we can do for Ferguson. However, we certainly can do our part to keep others from feeling the same way. I think we should start by praying, praying for the police officers, praying for the people living in the cities in our country and praying that leaders will make decisions that help to unify not divide the country. We can also continue to help by serving those who might have needs they can't meet on their own. Finally, I think that it is important that we always remember that there is only ONE race. We need to remember that God made us all in His image and share that wonderful truth with all of our friends.
Although situations like the riots in Ferguson can be difficult to discuss, they can also be important opportunities for us to share the love Christ has for us and others with our children. May God be your guide as you continue to talk with your children about challenging situations.
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