By: Guest blogger on October 28th, 2018

Comfort a Hurting Child

All of us know children who are coping with the pain experienced when family relationships are fractured by angry divorces, abuse, or neglect. They are our children’s friends, our grandchildren, our neighbors, or perhaps our nieces and nephews. Beyond the emotional woundedness they carry into each day, hidden spiritual scars can devastate their lives for decades and enslave their souls. We can comfort a hurting child in surprisingly simple but effective ways.

We, of course, can lift up these little ones in prayer. Our confidence is strong, knowing that our prayers are mighty and God is ever faithful in love and mercy for these children. They are ultimately His children. He is their beloved Father. But we long to help. Our faith calls us to “ora et labora,” to pray and to work. We want to DO something. Here are some practical ways to make the times that these children encounter us feel like a spiritual and emotional … HUG.

Be a Haven of Peace

We can cultivate an atmosphere for our homes to be welcome safe havens of peace, joy and rest. That does NOT mean our houses are tidy and free of chaos. It means that this hurting soul is welcome to join our HEALTHY and nurturing chaos as a soul-refreshing break from the destructive chaos they cope with at their home. Don’t underestimate creature comforts. Cozy blankets on the couch to wrap up in. Warm and welcoming smells. I have a friend with a big family who makes it her routine to put a pan of brownies, or other such dessert/snack that is easily dumped into a pan, in the oven at three o’clock most afternoons. This welcomes her children home to do homework with a great smell and some sweet love. This atmosphere can easily include an extra child in the mix.

Imagining Fatherhood

Our spiritual enemy routinely attacks a child’s vulnerability in difficult family situations. The spiritual enemy’s goal is to get suffering souls to abandon trust in God. One of the most profound attributes of God that is uniquely appreciated within Christianity is his fatherhood. He is not our master. He is not an all-powerful indistinct force. He is Abba, our daddy.

Whether or not the child’s father is the one behaving badly in the family troubles, the child can often make a quiet internal decision that dads in general can’t, or perhaps won’t, protect them from bad, hurtful stuff. If the family trauma persists, all those feelings are projected on the child’s image of God the Father. Part of our role in being a safe space for that child can be to help the boy or girl re-imagine trusting in fathers. We can do this subtly and gently. In the natural flow of family life, we can offer intentional experiences of positive fatherhood in books, movies, and TV series. Visualizing positive images of faith and fatherhood can improve their trust in God our Father. Growing in that hope of faith can help them renew love for their earthly dad too.

The problem we face as concerned parents, grandparents, neighbors and family friends is that fatherhood is typically depicted with disregard and mockery in modern films, TV, and books … especially those works targeted at children and teens. David McGee and Bryce Hantla’s well-researched article documents this trend in detail. I’ve done some digging to put together this list of recommendations for books, films, and TV series that affirm faith and trust in the fatherly care of God.

For the full list and links to materials, please see the original article here.

This article was originally published at CatholicMom.com and is shared here with permission.