Shelter in Place

Dear Friends,

Today I introduce to you my own mom, Gail Hatch, who will bring us a weekly post with suggestions for helping our children approach the sacred. The posts, generally for primary age children, and will be written content (not audio), and can be found in the Praying with Children section of the website.

May they be a helpful resource while you spend more time together than usual!

Mom writes:

When the Governor of California declared all Californians were to “Shelter in Place” I felt as though life was being pulled out from under me. I wondered many times, “Where is God in the midst of this?” 

As we mentor our children through these times, we ask: How can our homes become places of security and hope for our children? How do we shelter them in ways that offer emotional, educational and spiritual support?

In her book Family the Forming Center, Marjorie Thompson offers this word:

“ A healthy family is a shelter whose walls can offer needed protection…a permeable membrane through which larger realities are mediated, so that gradually we come to know where we stand in a world filled with darkness, light and ambiguity.”

She further amplifies this idea with the words of Delores Leckey:

“(The home)… is a sacred shelter: a place of acceptance, nurture and growth that empowers family members to participate in God’s ongoing acts of compassion and salvation.”

When our homes become sacred shelters reflecting the work of God’s holy spirit, our stories become part of his story. While we will never have all the answers to our children’s questions regarding the uncertainties of our world, we do have access to our loving God who rules the world and all of creation with truth and grace. 

God loves us fervently and longs to be our refuge and our strength.  He offers to be our shelter in times of sorrow and trouble.  

This is hopeful and wonderful news to share with our children! 

With your children this week

Gather together and ask:

1. Shelters: What do they look like throughout different parts of the world?  List them on a sheet of paper. Invite the children to draw pictures of different shelters.  Remind them families in many places are now “sheltering in place” in order to stay healthy.

2. Your shelter: Some children may want to draw their home.  How does it feel to be “sheltered in place” away from friends and teachers?

3. Verses: Read these out loud together. Talk about God being a safe shelter, refuge and strength for the family at this time. How does it feel to know God is there for you?

“Our God is our refuge and strength: a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear.” – Psalm 46:1 and 2a

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge: his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” – Psalm 91:4

“How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…” – Matthew 23:37

“You have been a shelter, Lord, to every generation. A sanctuary from the storm, to every generation.” – song by Bill Bastone

4. Prayer: Have someone write or offer a prayer thanking God for your time together. A parent may want to mark the sign of the cross on each child’s forehead as a blessing.