Calm your farm

If you are a parent of a school-aged child or teen then you probably have heard the click of their tongue followed by “Calm your farm Mum/Dad”. Although I don’t personally like the term, it reminds me of how our kids can sometimes be the ones to tell us, adults, when it’s time to relax. Why is that? How can they be so “calm” and feel the need to tell us when we are not doing it?

Naturally, adults have many more responsibilities than children do. We have access and exposure to more pressures and/or constraints, concerning news articles, media outlets telling us of what we should be worried about. Adults have meetings, workloads, children to ferry around, appointments to attend to, and mouths to feed. We, as adults, have a lot to carry on our shoulders which all add to our sense of worry and stress. Life can, and often does, look like a busy farmyard - Our farms are not always calm! 

It stands to reason then that children who are calm and have lower stress levels have limited exposure to the pressures of adulthood or the pressures/stressors that create the panicked farm feeling, and when they are exposed, they know how to handle it well and stay calm.

Of course, the current global pandemic situation has inspired an explosion, or implosion as the case may be, of anxieties for everyone and therefore has justifiably also amplified existing stresses in our lives. Covid-19 has not been selective with who it affects, whether it be medically or emotionally, and no one has been able to scrape through this period without being somewhat effected. Emotional Defcon 1 has been unofficially announced and experienced! 

So how then do we “calm our farms”, avoid emotional Defcon 1, and provide an environment for our children and students to stay calm? 

The Bible has a bit to say about this topic. Perhaps our creator knew what we were going to be like in times of extreme stress and provided some tools to help us to stay calm and at peace. Mull over these scriptures a while.

John 16:33 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV)

Romans 8:6 - The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (NIV)

Romans 15:13 - May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (NIV)

Philippians 4:6 – 9 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (NIV)

So what can I say about keeping our children and ourselves calm in amongst the chaos of current days? I think the verse from Philippians says it all. Shelter yourself and your children from things that are not noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. Remove yourself from the things of this world that trouble your mind – this may mean you limit how many negative media stories you dwell on, how many “Negative Nancies” you listen to, and how much you focus on the problems rather than the solutions. 

Now, this is easier said than done, but our children need to follow role models that give them avenues to honestly question where needed, provide sufficient answers, and then redirect to the things that produce peace. So may I encourage you to take a look at the unvoiced message you are communicating to the children around you. Are you communicating peace amongst the chaos? Is your farm calm?

Lastly, may the God of peace be with you all. May His heavenly peace surpass when our earthly peace does not, especially in the current world climate.