When Your Sponsored Child Experiences Tragedy

Although I am writing this with our sponsored kids in mind, as a mom, I think this applies to our kids who live with us too… This year we have heard about a number of tragedies in the lives of our sponsored kids…one child's father is in prison and her mom passed away from illness, one child's mother was thrown into prison (and it hasn't been confirmed whether or not she is guilty), another child's father left, and another child's father killed his mother in front of him.

When I hear these things in my kids' letters, my heart just breaks. I wish I could protect them from all the evil in this world, from all the hurt and pain.

On the other hand, I know that God doesn't promise pain-free lives. In fact, He reminds us that those who follow Him will face persecution: 2 Timothy 3:12, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution."

I love sharing the verse Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope," with my kids. But how do we reconcile the fact that God promises a hope and a future and that He promises persecution? I don't want my letters to be offering false hope to my kids. To my child who watched his mother die at the hands of his father, I don't want to tell him everything will be ok, that he won't suffer harm. I don't know what God has in store for his life. I can't promise that he will always be "safe" or "happy," meaning safe and happy as we tend to think of it in American dream terms.

So how does the hope God offer us tie in? And how can we share God's hope with our kids without giving them false hope? I think we need to remember Romans 8. In verse 28, God promises: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." So God promises to use the tragedy and the persecution for good! That is encouraging!

And then at the end of the chapter Paul reminds us that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God: Romans 8:38-39, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." So that is another thing we can share with our kids--they will always be under God's love!

Along with God's promise of everlasting love, even when hard things happen or when people harm us, we have God's promise that He will NEVER leaves us--Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." These truths are such beautiful reminders of what we can share with our kids to give them true hope!

And finally, we do have a hope and a future that are good! We may not see that peace on earth during our lifetime, but if we believe in Christ, we have a hope for heaven! We can remind our kids that if their faith is in Christ, then at the end of our lives, no matter how much suffering we experience, we will go to live with God in heaven for eternity. And we know from Revelation 21:4, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Isn't that a beautiful hope? We can remind our kids that although they will experience pain and suffering on earth, we, like Jesus, can look to the joys before us and keep running the race (Hebrews 12:1-2)!

So please, keep sharing Jeremiah 29:11 with your kids! But let us also remember to remind them that our hope is in God, we can trust in God because He keeps His promises and He is preparing a home for us in heaven!

All photos are from Compassion's Instagram page and if you don't have a sponsored child of your own, I encourage you to sponsor a child today!