A great response to kids' nightmares

We haven't had a lot of nightmares lately (praise God!), but we went through a two month period last December and January that involved one or two terrible night terrors every night. None of us slept much, and that is part of the reason that the kids are no longer sharing a room. I think our sweet girl has grown out of night terrors (please, God, let that be true!), but nightmares do happen from time to time. Her imagination is vivid during the daytime, so it's only logical that she would have a vivid subconscious nightlife too!

I read this yesterday here at girltalk, and I am thankful for the wisdom of the Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters - in this case, Janelle is the one imparting that wisdom - once again.

Dr. Russell Moore—himself a father of small children—recently offered this insightful answer [for nightmares]:

“The kids know—they instinctively know—that they're living in a universe in which something's gone awry. It's not our job—as parents, or as Sunday school teachers—to disengage that. It's our job to come in and to provide an answer to that. Yeah, you're living in an enchanted world. Yeah, you're living in a haunted world. You're living in a world haunted by demonic powers. That's exactly right—what you deeply fear is indeed the case... Your worrying about the monster under the bed isn't unreasonable; there's a monster under the fabric of the cosmos. Instead, we give them a story that provides the only comfort that really is lasting comfort; it's a comfort that the enemies have been defeated."

I am going to add a few words to my middle of the night hugs and kisses routine. Yes, Caly-girl, we live in a scary world, but we don’t need to be afraid. The monster has been crushed. And the One who crushed him, He’s right here in this room.