1. Be a Student of What They are Learning
The way we use the word miracle can be pretty broad. And when our students talk about miracles, it can range from “Getting through that exam was a miracle” to “I need a miracle for my mom to be cured of her cancer.” But miracles are about more than just the supernatural occurrence, whether that’s making the grade or witnessing an unexplainable healing. A miracle reveals God’s activity, and the greatest miracle—Jesus’ resurrection—is an invitation to participate in God’s activity by putting the past behind us and choosing to become a new creation, every day.

2. Be a Student of Your Student
Miracles aren’t something we think about in our everyday lives. And for some of us parents, our biggest miracle may be that we got through the day without a massive fight with our son or daughter, or simply that our teenager chose to talk to us at all. But sometimes—every now and then—we truly need something that feels miraculous—maybe even impossible. And our students sometimes need that too.

Often the things our kids want can seem trite, unimportant and petty to us. They want to find the perfect dress for the upcoming school dance and nothing fits. They want to make the football team. They want their Spanish teacher to stop giving homework over the weekends. To them these moments can feel like the end of the world, even though we know they aren’t really all that important in the greater scheme of things. But sometimes our students really do need a miracle. Because their best friend was suddenly diagnosed with a brain tumor. Because your family is struggling through a recent divorce. Because they are being bullied at school and can’t seem to find a way out. And in those times, they might be looking at you and asking, “Why is this happening? Where is the miracle I need right now?”

When you’re staring down your teenage son or daughter and the loaded and heavy question of why starts to rise up, there is a powerful statement that we want to give you permission to use: “I don’t know.”

Saying I don’t know may feel like a cop-out. It might feel like you aren’t giving your student everything they want in that moment. And it’s true, you aren’t. Because you can’t provide the cure for a rare form of cancer or fix overnight the pain from a broken family. But you can be present and real with your student in the midst of tragedy and uncertainty. And most often, this is what they need the most. It’s what they are looking for and what they are craving. When you make yourself vulnerable, when you admit that you don’t have it all figured out either, you allow your student a chance to lean in to your relationship. You invite them into an opportunity to walk through the difficulty together, on the same page and with equal footing, standing in the “I don’t know” moment together.

3. Action Point
Think through the following questions and share your answers with your student:

  • Has God ever answered something specific that you’ve prayed about?
  • Talk about a time when God came through for you?
  • Talk about a time when you prayed for God to come through for you and it didn’t happen? How did that feel and what did you do?
  • Take this opportunity to pray with your student about somewhere they feel like they need God to intervene in their lives.