Trauma in our kids

Our poor kids have gone through so much in the last 3 years - especially here in Houston. From hurricane Harvey to Covid, to this latest arctic blast - there has been a lot of trauma just in my house! Here is a lesson I taught over 2 weeks.... 

Spiderman - Far from home 2:27 min - 4 min 

What is Trauma? (definition) a deeply distressing or disturbing experience 

 What is something traumatic that has happened in your (family's) life?

•  Harvey 
•  Covid 
•  Job loss 
• Moving 
•  House fire 
•  Divorce 
•  Death in family 
•  New birth/adoption in the family
•  Loss of pet 
•  Illness or injury 
• Loss of youth pastor/teacher (job change, pregnancy, death) 
•  Canceled events (sports, VBS, parties, school) 

 Bible example: and what we can learn from them 

•  Esther - entire nation about to be executed - be strong 
• Job - lost family, business (animals) house, health - keep having faith 
• Adam and Eve - had to move, death of a son - God will never leave us 
• Noah - lost home and family in a flood - God is coming 
• David - best friends dad wanted to kill him/ hunted him for years - rely on God 
• Paul - imprisoned for preaching - serve others 
• Moses - lost home (Egypt) and not allowed into the promised land - talk to God 
• Daniel- lost family, home, taken to a foreign country - stay faithful to God (70years) 
• Jesus- BFF died (Lazarus) - it is ok to cry 

Why is something traumatic? Fear of the unknown. Loss of control 

No two people are affected by the same trauma the same way! Mom vs dad. Siblings vs you. Friends vs you. 

When trauma happens no one changes. I didn’t change. You didn’t charge. The circumstances changed. We are forced to think about something that we don’t usually think about. Priorities are tested. (Kids not allowed to go to school, angry that they want to go) 

How are you going to respond to the stressors? 

• Anger 
• Sadness 
• Violence 
• Placing blame 
• Depression 
• Building barriers (pretending everything is ok)/ apathetic 

Cars 3 - 1:04:32 - 1:06:02 

Can anyone fully deal with all the stresses in life? NO - Phil 4:6, proverbs 3:5, 

Coping skills: diff for each person 

• Suppression - everything is ok, there is no problem 
• Drugs/ alcohol 
• Exercise 
• Meditate 
• Too much tv 
• Watching the news all the time 
• Talking to someone 
• Journal 
• Serve others 

What happens when we use the wrong coping skills? Think about self more than others (protect self) - 

God says to be selfless 

• Matthew 25:31-46 
• Phil 2:4 
• John 15:12- 14 
• Prov 19:17 
• 1 Corinthians 10:24 
• Romans 12:2 
• Mark 12:31 
• Prov 18: 1 
• Romans 12:10 
• 1 Corinthians 13 
• Matthew 22:39 
• John 15:12 

Verse- Amos 3:6 When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? ‭‭ 

Hebrews 12:7 and 11

What does God want ME to learn A gift of God …. 

Write down what is bothering/ stressing you. How are you dealing with it? What does God want you to learn from this? What verse can help you? What blessing has happened because of this? How can you help someone else because of this?