For the Children’s Sake

  “Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.”
– Be Still, My Soul

 

 

“What did your friend have to say in her letter?” I asked, as I carried a load of clean laundry upstairs to the bigger girl’s bedroom. The mail has just arrived and the girls were happily reading through their penpals’ letters.

Handing the letter over, my daughter offered me to read the note from her friend, a girl about the same age.

From the sweet childlike handwritten note, instead of reading about her friend’s childhood tales or joys, I was shocked to read the incredibly sad words describing her life as  “horrible” and “lonely with no friends”; caution jumped out at me right away as she also wrote about the current ‘situation’ that has ‘wrecked everything’ for her.

 

My heart broke and despair filled my soul. I could see this coming when we last visited with this family…  this was a regular girl, with a healthy, steady family and a good church foundation, loving parents and godly grandparents – and yet, from our times together with this family, I have watched her hide her face as her parents describe the current global situation and the newest political problem.

I folded up the letter and sighed. My heart broke for this little girl, as I read between the lines and saw her child-like sorrow and confusion at this entire present situation.

This is not the first time I have heard of such a tale from our little friends … and it breaks my heart every time I hear of a child feeling anxious or depressed because of the current political situation, a child unable to sleep at night because of fears with which even an adult grapples.

 

Ladies, I have been silent on this issue for the past two years – but let’s be very clear … there is a war going on.

 

In my own country, the situation is most dismal. It is a war for more than we may realize. These current events are unlike anything our generation has faced and it certainly caught many of us by surprise – how does one parent through this unstable time in history? I do think many parents are unsure what to do or how to handle the outside world and the inside homelife.

 

From the beginning of this crisis,  my husband and I have worked very hard to keep our life as regular as possible, to provide our children with a happy carefree childhood — despite the latest headline or destructive measure. We do not worry our children with adults problems.

May I beg of you to do the same … life your live fully for God and do not live in fear.

 

Mothers, this weighs heavy on my heart: we need to protect our children – they do not need to know every thing that happens across the globe.  We, as children, were blessed to grow up without the internet and social media. Maybe it is time to quiet the influx of information in our households and, with godly wisdom, guide our children through this dark and evil time gently, without causing too much fear in their hearts.

After all, they are only children.

They cannot handle the same heavy load that your shoulders and mind can bear. We have seen adults crumble underneath the weight of the past two years … how can we expect our precious little children to carry the same burden? I cringe when a room is filled with adults who cannot stop talking about the current situation, while little children are in their presence. There must be a protective filter for information on such current events!

 

In our family, as husband and wife, we will be vigilant and fully aware of what we facing. We will, and have been, praying over the current times.

However, we will make it a point to continue to celebrate birthdays and family holidays … we will never stop going to church and gathering with the saints … we will gather with Christians and have fellowship with like-minded friends. We will stand strong on our beliefs and continue to teach them to our children. We will be honest, upright citizens that will fight to keep our freedoms. We will be calm parents and loving at home, but aware and watchful of current events.

 

But we will bear such burdens on our adult shoulders, carrying our troubles to a Higher Power.

 

I am seeing how building a simple, away-from-the-world-life, has truly benefited all my sweet children, as they are blissfully allowed to simply …  be children.  Yes, the strong adults are fighting the battles out there but the children do not need to fight in this war. They need to have a beautiful, joy-filled childhood – that is my goal.

All politics aside, if you have children, it is your duty to provide a happy home, one free of too much stress and worry of the outside forces. If at all possible, I would say move to the country and take your children out of the cities and towns!

Pray together, and if you have older children, yes, perhaps certain subjects can be discussed to teach your child when it is right to stand against the crowd. We do need to instruct our children to be Daniels in a world – even in the Christian world – where one does not stand strong on convictions and can be swayed very easily.

However, this current war is not one, I believe, a child’s mind can handle … it is the parents’ duty to fight the battles.
Let your children be little.

I believe right now, more than ever, it is my duty to provide that beautiful happy home.

Therefore, I pledge to:

~  make lovely, happy memories. Bake a cake and have your children decorate it – for no reason, just for an afternoon snack!  Go on a nature walk. Watch beautiful documentaries in the winter months. Read fantastic books together by the fire… make hot chocolate or tea and read poetry. Play beautiful music. Give your child a pet to care for and love! Grow seeds for springtime. Make plans to grow a garden. Look for beauty in God’s creation. Do good deeds for others. Have like minded friends and stick together during these tough times. Have friends over …. have dinner parties and birthday parties …. build snowmen or go skating in the winter months … swim in the ocean, go to a lovely river and listen to the peaceful water flowing … watch for the return of birds in the springtime ….

… and most importantly, GO TO God-fearing CHURCH and REMAIN in a church family– as our faith is our foundation.

 


 

Stand strong, mothers.

Our children need us to fight this war, but we must do it with a smile of joy on our faces and a hug each morning to reassure our children that they have a safe home, free from the (adult) worries of this fallen world. Let’s get through this as stronger Christians, more devout and faithful than ever.

 

Be strong, mothers, and make your home a beautiful place to be — for the children’s sake.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

P.S. For you Canadian mothers, why not print this off and frame it at your front door? Also, learn our history.

P.P.S

Here is a sweet little movie for your children to watch … note the coziness of it all. Best of all, if you can read these books together, you will truly enjoy it.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtX9ycjUIoE

February 25, 2022 - 1:48 pm

Laura Jeanne Gillian, I loved this post very much. Thank you sincerely for the reminder. I have always tried to make our home a warm, safe refuge from the world, but sometimes I forget and start talking about things I shouldn’t. I also wanted to say that the embroidery and baked goods shown in this post are all so lovely – you have taught your daughters so well!

February 24, 2022 - 2:09 pm

Sue This is such a great post! I really love you’re last paragraph too. With God, all things are possible! Also to those who are not able to move or live in the country, we can certainly bring the country to us in our homes wherever we live. There are some great ideas in this post and I would like to add home canning/preservation (Gigi has fantastic recipes here), backyard / container gardening, sewing, crafting, creating, construction and repair skills and caring for small pets can all be utilized and taught to our families and ourselves!

February 23, 2022 - 10:45 pm

Julianne Amen!! I thank God everyday that he placed homeschooling on our hearts long before we knew this predicament would happen the year our eldest would start kindergarten – that has allowed us so much freedom in keeping the negativity and fear out of our home. And choosing to stay in community with fellow believers throughout these last two years has been essential in keeping out hearts and eyes focused on the truth!

February 23, 2022 - 4:36 pm

Michelle Thank you! Thank you! You are such a blessing! I am so thankful that God has had our paths to cross!! Have a blessed rest of your day!!

February 23, 2022 - 4:33 pm

Gigi Hi Michelle – okay, I will work on this for the next post. ((hugs))

February 23, 2022 - 4:25 pm

Michelle Please don’t go to any trouble with it! Maybe just a rough draft…things you do every day, at a certain time of the day, allotted times to do your tasks which I know would include your chores, your children’s chores, schooling, meal times, times spent with them and/or your husband and so on… Just kind of looking for some ideas to help me get a jump on this. I think(know)a schedule would benefit me much. You CAN “schedule”..(hee hee) this in if you need to… I know you are VERY BUSY. And if you can’t right now, that is perfectly fine with me! I appreciate you taking time to listen, help and encourage us ladies to be the wives, mothers, teachers and keeper of our homes that we should be!!

February 23, 2022 - 4:14 pm

Gigi Hi Michelle – thanks for the reminder … Let me schedule it in .. hee hee … just kidding! Okay – remind me what you want to hear … a schedule of my day? It will be a long schedule, that’s for sure.

February 23, 2022 - 3:31 pm

Michelle By the way….did you think any more about sharing if you had a schedule that you use? I could use some ideas for help!!! Thanks!!

February 23, 2022 - 3:03 pm

Gigi Michelle, you are so dear. Thank you … we all struggle but work daily to be Christlike … keep pressing on!

February 23, 2022 - 2:56 pm

Michelle AGAIN, such a wonderful and timely post for me in my life. I find that I desire to be this way with my family every day–BUT fail! They should see and hear Christ in me ALWAYS! Thank you for this provoking thought! You are SO ENCOURAGING!!

February 23, 2022 - 11:20 am

Gigi Lena, oh, how GOOD it is to hear from you! I think of you *all* the time and thank God for the years we had together. You are so special to me. (Come visit sometime!) Yes, I agree – raising up Daniels … AMEN and AMEN.
Hugs and give our love to your family!

February 23, 2022 - 8:20 am

Lena Gillian, This is a good post, especially for younger children. We live in the country with older teens and I do find there needs to be a balance of information. Everything we discuss is in the context of the word of God. We are living in tumultuous times, how do we go forward? With prayer and supplication, giving our requests to God. We have lost jobs, my children have been denied entry in final years of university and the future is unsteady. BUT God! If we teach security of salvation, the sharing of the gospel, and standing for truth, our children should not be fearful. Faith is crucial in this time of uncertainty, for both children and adults, we all need to know where our Help comes from. I want my young adults to know what they are facing, if I didn’t prepare them I would be at fault. I want them to be the Daniel, if they are to deny our Father or face the fiery furnace, I pray they will be prepared. The best thing to teach our young adults are to stand in the face of persecution and know God is more than enough. They will only know that by knowing their Heavenly Father.

February 23, 2022 - 4:37 am

Gigi Miriam, thank you so much for your beautiful words. Your parents sound like wonderful people. You have re-confirmed my conviction on letting children be children during this messy season. You are so right.

February 23, 2022 - 3:10 am

Miriam This is my first time commenting but I have been enjoying your blog for at least a year. Thank you for your beautiful posts! Your words as well as the breathtaking photography are uplifting and inspiring!

This post reminded me of my own anxiety growing up during the cold war. My parents did the right thing, I wasn’t aware what was going on nor was I burdened with what happened during their youth (WWII) At the age of 13-14 someone my parents trusted exposed me to End Times prophesies and how Soviet Union is going to xyz and from that day on I was anxious. I mourned the life I wasn’t going to be able to live, have a family of my own, and have children which was my ultimate wish. Finally 5 years later I asked my father: There is no point in planning for future if everything is going to blow up any day? My father answered, without lifting his eyes from the newspaper, What if it doesn’t?

Yes, there is war going on, and always has been. But we must, we must, we must focus on the opposite. Just as you mentioned, the sweet things ordinary home life consists of, they are the way to physically overcome this world. The faster and crazier the world becomes, the slower and more God-focused we stay.

God bless! Miriam in Finland

February 22, 2022 - 11:05 pm

Monica PS. I’ve been reading to Everett, The Wind in the Willows at bedtime! He loves it! And I was wondering if there was a movie!! Thank you!!

February 22, 2022 - 11:00 pm

Monica Good post. I love the pictures in this post. I agree with Mrs. Cox, the children look so happy and peaceful. I think the important thing is to set the tone in the home to that of peace and tranquility. According to the ages, some children might could handle some news if done in the right way (not with a parent’s face in panic and terror), perhaps during devotions as a way to share with children that we will be bold or that we will not bow or that God is sovereign and we can have rest even in hard times. Certainly if mom and dad aren’t peaceful and are always talking to friends in a panic, then children are going to be nervous and scared. And that’s heartbreaking. Glad for your reminder to remember to do the childhood things with them! Baking, laughing, sewing, enjoying God’s creation. So wonderful and so needful in their lives. And ours too! I know for myself, *I* can’t handle much world news so I certainly wouldn’t want a child to bear what I can’t myself. Prayers for our friends in Canada and for God to strengthen the church and parents!

February 22, 2022 - 3:11 pm

Mrs. Cox Yes…so important that they have a happy childhood tucked under their belt.
We cannot re-do childhood. There’s only one chance to build right the first time.
You’re children look peaceful and content. They will have fond memories of the fleeting years of childhood.

February 22, 2022 - 1:19 pm

Gigi Tara, you are NOT alone. And I will pray for you ever night. You can email me at gigigauthier@protonmail.com if you need to.
Prayers are going up everywhere. xo

February 22, 2022 - 9:17 am

Tara Gillian, your post is SO timely! Last night as I was struggling to fall asleep I prayed that God would give clarity to my mind. It has been so full lately of “what do we do?”. There have been so many directions that I have been felt pulled in lately. This whole situation has had huge, lasting impacts on our kids and us. I feel like we are stuck. Stuck because of a job situation, stuck because of the housing market, stuck because of our childrens special needs, stuck because our church family is so good and I don’t want to see our kids struggle even more if we were to leave that. Please continue to pray. The last 2 years have felt like a waiting room.

February 22, 2022 - 4:00 am

Susan lane I have never commented before but you are so very right, children must be protected against the worries of the world. My children are grown now and I have grand children, children need to grow up in a carefree world, they are children for so little a time and adults for longer. God bless you all. Sue

February 22, 2022 - 12:12 am

Brenda (Gigi’s Momma) Thank you Gillian – this is a GOOD word. So encouraging for all of us … to remember that little ones had to live through wars before and we need to protect them. Many parents in the World Wars did what they could to protect their children, even to the point of sending them to live with relatives in safer places. Of course, I pray that would never happen here in Canada. The adults need to fight the war, while the children enjoy the sweet precious and innocent times of childhood. I love the family pictures, thanks for sharing. And the embroidery is amazing! Good work, my sweet girls. Again, thank you for speaking out, a well needed reminder. God is with us and HE will see us through this. Thankful for your godly wisdom. Love you xoxo