This weekend my husband and I stood hand in hand with our 4 daughters at the doors of an abortion facility. And together we prayed.

Joined by about a hundred other individuals of various ages, ethnic groups, religious denominations and cultural backgrounds, together we cried out to God for life.

Before we went, I had to ask myself the question, “Are our girls too young to digest and to make a stand on such a controversial topic?”

My conclusion, no.

But then I had to ask myself another question. “Am I equipping my girls with the Biblical truth and the courage they need in order to make a stand on such controversial topics?

If I am honest, I don’t think I have been.

A few weeks prior to this moment my 10 year old daughter sat across from me at the kitchen table and asked,

“Mommy, why do they kill babies?”

With each word of her question resonating loudly in my ears, my heart sank. Of all of the hard things we had discussed, how did I miss this?

Or had I avoided it?

I have intentionally talked to my girls about loving God and the importance of a personal relationship with Him. I’ve guided them with a Christ-focused view on friendships, love, hardships and even sex. But somehow in the midst of guiding my girls in these truths, I simply tucked away a few of the major topics that cause our faith and our society to clash.

I don’t like having hard conversations with my girls but even more than that, I don’t like when someone else beats me to it and because you are here, reading this, I don’t think I am alone.

Exposing the tender hearts of our young girls to such darkness is scary. But avoidance disguised in the uniform of protection, is one of the most harmful things we can do. As Christian parents, we have to realize that discussing hard topics like abortion with our kids will not harm them, but these conversations (and prayers) are actually what will protect them. It will cause them to have to ask more questions and to dig deeper into God’s Word for themselves.

God commands us to be a light.

Matthew 5:15 (NIV): Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 

Keeping our girls in the dark does not make the world less dark, however it does limit their ability to shine.

Do you struggle with talking to your girls about hard topics because of the darkness it exposes? Maybe for you it’s not abortion but another topic that makes you cringe.

Whatever the topic, here are a few tips to help you approach the hard and ugly conversations with your girls:

1. Seek wisdom. Before you decide to have any talk with your girls, you should pray these words. “Lord, give me wisdom.” We never want to plant seeds of fear, judgment or confusion into the hearts of our children and we need God’s wisdom to lead us as we navigate difficult truth.

2. Prepare. Know what God has to say about the topic and prepare to show your girls why you believe what you believe based on scriptures.

3. Be honest. Let your girls ask questions and regardless of your comfort level answer them honestly using God’s truth as the foundation.

4. Speak with love and seek humility. First and foremost we must always remember that as believers, we need to live a life of truth and love. We can not have a conversation about hard truth without discussing God’s love and grace.

Let’s grow as moms together in equipping our girls with the truth they need to guard their hearts and protect their minds. Not so that they can judge but so that they can love the way that Christ does. Always showing them what Jesus looks like as the perfect picture of truth, love, grace and forgiveness.