Paul Batura: Children's coronavirus fears – this is what I told my sons the times demand

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First grader teaches brother Bible verse to ease coronavirus fears

Cameron Brundidge, 6, helped her brother, Brandon, memorize Scripture she learned at church.

After a day of typical boyhood battles in our home – fights over Legos, tears and tussles from chronic sibling rivalries – including arguments over who got more, who started it and who wouldn’t stop it – the late evening had come and the air had finally fallen silent in the house. 

It was bedtime. I love sitting on the side of our boys’ beds, watching them settle into the comfort of warm blankets and soft pillows. But even more so, I often find the late evening conversations with them to be the sweetest and most meaningful of the day. 

This past Saturday night, Will, who is 9, was asking about the coronavirus. We’ve tried to balance the subject in our home, but in addition to washing our hands a lot, we’ve been praying as a family for the sick and the health care workers as well as for a miraculous turn of events.  

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"How many people have died from the coronavirus, Daddy?" Will asked, in a tone that seemed more curious than frightened. 

"Too many, but less than you might think," I began, somewhat stalling to find the right tone and words.  

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"I hope I don’t get it. Or Riley or Alex. And I hope you and Mommy don’t get it," he said, adding, "Grandmother and Papa, either." 

I paused. In good conscience, I couldn’t tell him it wouldn’t ever happen. It might very well. Everybody’s at risk for getting COVID-19. 

So, what did I say to him? Here is the essence of how I responded and what we’ve been talking about as a family: 

It’s possible we could get the coronavirus, but it’s ever more possible and probable that we won’t – and even if we did – there’s an even greater chance we’d recover from it. 

So, don’t be fearful. Now is the time to be strong. Now is the time to be courageous. 

You’re old enough to know that bad things sometimes happen to good people. It’s not fun. We don’t look for trouble, but troubles find everybody. It’s always been the case.  

There’s a lot of number-crunching going on, about the number of tests, cases, hospitalizations and yes, even deaths.  

But you know what? 

The current human death rate is 100 percent. Coronavirus or not, nobody gets out of here without dying. We hope and pray and believe they’ll solve this current pandemic.  We hope you’ll live a great, long life – but God sometimes calls people home early or different from our schedule.  

He’s the boss. We’re not. 

We’re living in remarkable times with great technological advancements, but there are no guarantees. There have never been any guarantees.  

Of course, we should be wise. Don’t be cavalier about serious things. Wash your hands, keep your distance, follow the recommendations of the experts. But you have to live your life – because this is the only one this side of Heaven you’ll ever get. 

In order for you to have been born, your grandparents and great grandparents made it through a lot – and things a lot worse than COVID-19.  

They made it through wars, famines and all kinds of diseases and plagues. They sometimes didn’t have much money. They sometimes didn’t have a lot of food.  

But they had enough. God provided and they survived. 

When you’re living through tough and dark times, it sometimes seems like it’ll never end – that the morning will never come.  

But the sun will rise again. It always does. 

There was once a pastor who quipped, "Tough times don’t last, but tough people do." 

I think that’s mostly true. Historically, the future favors the brave. But tough people get sick, too, and tough people die also. Just visit any military cemetery, where you’ll see row upon row of white crosses and Star of David markers. 

We’re living in remarkable times with great technological advancements, but there are no guarantees. There have never been any guarantees.  

Every war we’ve fought could have been lost. Every cure we enjoy today may never have been found. 

Yes, the current crisis is potentially catastrophic. But heroes are forged in fire and when we all emerge from this nightmare, I believe we’re going to be stronger and more resilient for having endured it.  

We’re a country full of good people who are doing great things. In America, the ordinary regularly do the extraordinary.  

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During World War II, Winston Churchill famously said, "We’re not made of sugar candy." 

Nearly 80 years later, neither are we.

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