CHILDREN OF WAR

She amazed everyone. Marianne (not her real name), was joyful, playful and seemed incredibly resilient for an eight year old ... especially when considering what she had been through.
Marianne's village was attacked by rebels. They brought villagers into an open place and shot everyone. Somehow, Marianne survived, being hidden away under the bodies of her family as they fell.

For weeks afterwards, relief workers observed that she acted like a normal eight year old. She had no symptoms of trauma. She went about her life as a typical child. Then she broke. It turns out her mind and heart were able to cope with the incredible sadness of losing her family and the other villagers. But the real trauma came for her in having to walk out over the bodies of those whe loved. The ultimate insult in her African village came when someone placed their foot on another. Marianne had walked over all of the people she loved and admired as she escaped. She could not overcome the shame of what she had done to disrespect them. Who would have known that this was the most distressing part of a war situation for Marianne?

The trauma of war impacts kids in ways we will never know. It's fairly simple to recognize the observable facts: Over 12 million people live as refugees; hundreds of millions are living in areas of war and conflict; around 300,000 children are even captured as child soldiers.
What can we do for them? Many believers are part of relief efforts to feed, house, clothe and encourage the refugees ... and those living in areas of conflict around the world. Many others are working to resolve conflicts (or stop violent situations from beginning in the first place). Others are teaching children affected by war. And ... unfortunately ... many are so unaware of the problem, that they do nothing at all.

We need to begin with prayer. Pray for refugees to find a sense of "home" where they are. Pray for Christians to mobilize to give practical care to refugees who have come into their communities. Pray for more Christians to care and to help, even when the problems seem too big to understand. Pray for children to experience the healing of Christ, especially from the unseen hurts they feel inside their hearts. And pray for people to stop fighting -- to find creative and caring ways to resolve conflict among villages, communities and nations.

God hears and answers our prayers.