This is a Facebook post I recently wrote, and I wanted to share it here as well. We are facing things in our beloved USA that we have never faced, and amidst it all - our children are being overlooked.

***

From the beginning of this whole thing...what shall we call it? It started with a virus and now who knows what's going on, it'll just be remembered as the infamous "2020".

From the beginning, I have been burdened for our children. Not just my kids, I mean kids across our nation. Bear with me, and please, put aside politics for a minute. I am desperate that you hear this.

We took them out of schools. We closed everything. No playgrounds, no libraries, no nothing. Away from consistency, friends, social life, space to play and learn and release energy.

Many families have actually thrived with this - God has used so much for good.

Yet there's another side. A side where I do trust He is still working, but a side that absolutely sickens me.

For many kids, home is not safe. Home is terrifying. Home is where they are abused, neglected, exposed. They are not protected.

And in the last 6+ months, as we've seen adult suicide and depression rates skyrocket, the number of cases being reported to DHS has dropped. I know this because I asked. Do you see what that means?
People are not reporting abuse (of course, if you're an abuser stuck at home with children...you're not reporting it and neither is anyone else). Children are not. being. protected.

And more recently, the exposure of human trafficking. We all knew it existed, but most of us didn't realize the extent of it. I am grateful it has been exposed, praise God for shedding light on what has been hidden in darkness. It is pure evil.

So what is our response?

To continue putting masks on our children's faces? Again - put aside the politics, please. If you look at a group of children in masks, they all look similar. Do you realize pedophiles are using this to their great advantage?? Do you know that traffickers are out and about - with children - and nobody even knows because we can't see each other's faces?

And defunding the police - are people thinking of the implications this has for *children*? Police are their defense! The police show up to calls for domestic abuse, they are the ones who wait with hurting children while a home is found for them to go to. They do the hard work to protect kids in our own neighborhoods.

Friends, will we keep failing our children?

Or will we think beyond ourselves, and think of the generations that come after us? Will we look out for those who can't look out for themselves?

It starts in our own homes, protecting our own children. Don't you feel bad for protecting your children. Don't be cow toed into things you know are not in your children's best interest. Fight for your kids.

And as we look out - if we see something, say something. Get trained to know the signs of abuse. (Operation Underground Railroad has fantastic resources for this.)

I'm still searching. I feel so helpless with it all, knowing there are children being preyed on and not knowing what on earth to do. But these couple things and a lot of prayer - I know those are places to start. Please, join me.

"When the cares of my heart are many,
Your consolations cheer my soul."
Psalm 94:19

"He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?"
Micah 6:8