“What is a bomb?” the little four-year-old asked me earnestly. We were in Sunday School, right in the middle of a Bible story that definitely had no bombs in it. Startled, I reached out to God to know how best to answer—how to care for the child’s need. “Did you see something about bombs on television?” He nodded and so did the other children. This was at the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland when bombing incidents were being reported almost daily by the BBC, even on children’s news programs.
God’s answer continued to unfold. I went on, “Do you know, right now there’s a Sunday School class going on just like ours, in a church just like ours, right in the city where the bombs were. Those children are learning about God’s love and care for them, just as we are, and we know they’re safe in His circle of love. Would you like to tell them we’re praying for them?” That brought big smiles! So the next week I wrote a letter, adding circles for them to draw their smiley faces, and we sent it off to Belfast.
What a wake-up call! I had been watching the news about the bombings, but not actively engaging in prayer about it. I made the commitment to take time every day to pray for the resolution of this centuries-old conflict. It wasn’t easy at first, but gradually the prayer brought clarity and confidence. When I began to see through to the spiritual fact that God is ever present and His creation dwells in harmony and safety, even where atrocities seem to be, and that God’s government is the source of all control, I started to feel peaceful and secure again.
