Whitney Williams: Applying sunscreen … and God’s grace

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, July 11th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Next up: WORLD Commentator Whitney Williams says the struggle to get sunscreen on children is real, but so is God’s grace.

WHITNEY WILLIAMS, COMMENTATOR: After nearly a decade of parenting, I’ve noticed that for most kids, sunscreen is akin to acid. Not the LSD, drug kind of acid. No, I’m talking about the kind of acid that melts flesh. I know you’ve seen it, maybe even experienced it yourself: Tortured parents torturing their kids via sunscreen application–the struggle is real, widespread, and there seems to be no easy way to go about it. But if you gather with friends and family at the lake or poolside, you’ll notice parents using several popular variations:

First, the one-fell-swoop method. It’s mainly for facial application and you only get one shot with this one. … There are no do-overs, so you better make it good. Step one: Squirt a lot of sunscreen in your hands. Step two: Sneak up behind your child and grab him or her around the jawline. Step three: Pull upward with gusto. This method also conveniently doubles as a chiropractic session. And listen, if it gets in the eyes, it gets in the eyes, OK? That’s just the price of summer fun.

A second variation you may see is the “just close your eyes and hold your breath” spray and pray method. A Williams family favorite. Sometimes the sunscreen even makes it on the skin!

Third, you’ve got kids in full-body coverage, complete with wide-brim hats, scarves, and sunglasses. No UV ray formed against these shall prosper.

Fourth, you’ll no doubt see, or hear, rather, the turn-or-burn moms–“Just turn toward me for five seconds or you’re gonna roast!” You’ll note this scene coinciding with many methods of sunscreen application.

Rounding out the torture tactics, you’ve got the deodorant-looking sunscreen, for when you want to really stick it to ‘em; the too blessed to be stressed need not apply-ers; delicate moms who prefer to finger paint their children, moms who slap on the sunscreen like they’ve got a grudge, frugal parents who place their children downwind from the spray and pray-ers, and finally the vampire families who don’t emerge till dark.

No matter how you choose to torture, ahem, protect your children this summer, we parents would be wise to offer one another grace, because we all tend to burn pretty easily, don’t we? And I’m not talking about sunburns at this point. I’m talking about stinging people with nitpicky criticism… whether we verbalize it or not.

But we weren’t given Christ’s light to burn people with it, were we? No, Christ gave us His light to destroy the darkness and send evil scurrying. So, when it comes to the little things of parenting, let’s encourage one another. Let’s pursue peace and build one another up. Let’s act as sunscreen–not smothering, but covering one another in God’s grace, love, truth, and prayer, to protect one another from all evil.

Some friends and family might resist no matter how winsome our application of that grace. But still, I’d save the acidic turn-or-burn method as a last resort.

I’m Whitney Williams.

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