Sticks and Stones...

 

May break my bones but words
 will never hurt me!
I wish we can all say that is true. Deep in our hearts, it does hurt when someone speaks cruelly towards you. When I was a young girl, I was made fun of because I was kind of  a silly clowny girl and my mom would cut my hair reallly short when she didn't want to deal with my long curls that would knot up. I would scream when she tried to brush through my locks, so she cut them off instead. I had to pay the price at school with kids calling me a boy. It did hurt, it made me cry, it even gave me a complex for years...well into my adulthood. Now that I have children of my own...They too have had to suffer at some very hurtful remarks. Kids would tease my son for his ears stick out a bit...And sadly at present my little girl has been hurt by words...Kids calling her" fat". Okay, my girl may be a bit round...No matter though she is very healthy, very sweet, very loving, funny, sensitive and beautiful...Not only on the outside...But inside. This has been a long sensitive road this last year as she is now going through puberty...She has grown a whole head taller in the last year...But the words have stung her...Which has made her dislike herself, and even feel that she is unloved by the other children. I had found a very sad note she had written to herself and left in her drawer which said, she was sad and feels fat and ugly and that no one wants to play with her or likes her. This has even crushed me.. We have had long talks and prayed as well as worked through some Biblical studies on what God thinks of us and our image. It is nothing like what man thinks of people. We have told her over and over that she is beautiful inside and out and how very much she is loved and is very special to us, that it doesn't matter what the "kids" think of her...It matters only what God thinks.

We have read scripture and character books... I have taught her not to fear man (or peers). She is wonderfully made by God in His image. God certainly does not make mistakes! I know she still feels the hurt...Yet, we have been able to laugh about it...I myself have become round in the last years.... and made the mistake of saying something very mean about myself in front of her...She started to cry and told me how beautiful I am! Then we were able to talk some more about putting ourselves down. I was able to see even how wrong it is for us to do that to ourselves! Like I said, God doesn't make mistakes. We are made in His image so putting ourselves down is like putting God down. He certainly didn't create a grotesque world, surely He did not make grotesque people. He loves His people. It is only people that are blind. Unfortunately this is a fallen world filled with many ignorant people... Sad but true.

 

So, what do we do? We need to believe God's word and know that He loves us and created each one of us in a special unique way like no other...We need to pray for those who are blinded. I pray that these bullies will open their eyes and see that they can surely hurt with words. I pray that they will come to know God and change their ways. I pray that parents of bullies will guide them onto a better path and teach them about loving their neighbor. I pray that she will come in contact with true friends who will uplift her and love her for who she is. My daughter has been strengthened quite a bit through this as her faith has also grown. She is a better person, knowing this truth and seeing her beauty is unique and special and glorifies God in all she does. She is learning to love herself.

   

She has learned it is not what you look like that makes you!!!

It is your character and your heart that makes you!

 So.... We might be a little round or maybe strange looking...

But not in the sight of God!

I am happy to say that she has even forgiven the ones who have offended her.

That's a big step. She is a happy girl and that makes me happy!

  Each child is uniquely made by God in His image. 

 Therefore, each is special to God and loved by Him. 

 King David wrote in Psalm139,

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

"After the uncertainties of girlhood, when the crudeness and lack of symmetry in body and mind have put away, and the woman of promise is before us in all her beauty and grace, we are privileged to see in her, who was once a girl, one of the most blessed of God's creation."

From Beautiful Girlhood

I hope that she can now say "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"... For she can trust in God and let that all slide off her back and know in full assurance and confidence of her unique silhouette, that she was created a masterpiece!

 Samuel 16:7 says,

 “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 

For now, she is blooming just as a flower does.

Someday, she will be a rose in full bloom!

Make sure you pause my music playlist before watching this short... short!
Enjoy!
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