Election anxiety can spoil family peace

It seems that ever since the infamous summer debate between then-incumbent candidate President Joe Biden and his opponent, former President Donald Trump, America has been consumed by conflict surrounding presidential politics.

This election feels consequential … cataclysmic even. Media outlets feature pundits issuing apocalyptic warnings should the other party be elected. Social media doomscrolling sparks our outrage over bold-faced untruths, political censorship, and abuses of power, among many other touted “existential threats to democracy.”

The truth is that this election is interfering with our family health. As parents and grandparents finding ourselves swept into a current of fear, we feel desperate to impart truth to our children and to protect their Christian worldview at all costs.

Younger generations are increasingly pessimistic about the future of our country, and many avoid politics altogether. While we stay glued to our screens, monitoring presidential politics and considering ourselves aware and engaged, our children view us as angry and afraid. Leading with lectures and posturing with political diatribes are burning bridges in our families, not building them.

I remember riding in the car while having a heated politcal discussion with my husband. We were downright (and rightfully) angry about the issue but completely aligned in our views and shared passion. I heard silence in the back seat (always an ominous sign with four young children), and as I looked back, I saw them quietly crying. With trembling voices, they asked, “Why are you and Daddy fighting?” My perception of the conversation was vastly different from theirs.

Our children are watching and learning from our responses. They are listening to our words, watching our emotions, and making note of our posture and gestures. Children, no matter what age, look to their parents for guidance, security, and cues in shaping their own responses. We have the privilege of guiding them and strengthening their faith amid tumultuous politics. Instead of giving them a visual of our worried faces magnetized to a screen, let’s show them our trusting faces turned toward heaven in prayer, our searching faces turned to the pages of God’s Word, and our listening faces tuned in to their concerns about a frightening world.

Here are three things you can do to help your family:

▶ First, remember God is in control. He is not pacing the floor of heaven, wringing His hands. He is all-powerful, all-present, and all-knowing. Assure your family of your faith as you look to God for hope and peace.

▶ Second, pray for our country as much as you worry about it. Model for your children how to trust God in times of trouble and how to turn your cares into prayers. Praying decreases anger and aggression, counteracts the flight-or-fright stage, and reduces feelings of fear and anxiety.

▶ Third, prepare for your Thanksgiving celebration by taking time every day until then to practice gratitude. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us instead of being anxious, “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” This command comes with a promise that “the peace of God … will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Gratitude is the remedy for election interference in your family health. I am thankful that although we don’t know what the future holds, we know we serve a God Who holds the future. And no matter what happens, we can trust Him to be faithful to keep His promises.