Day 80: Kindness Rocks

“Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

Missy confessed to me recently that she didn’t want to go to day camp again because a couple days ago, a few of the other kids made fun of the way she talks. When the counselor was out of earshot, they told her she was dumb and accused her of cutting while they waited in line for the slide. Which led to a long conversation about how sometimes when people act ugly, it’s really because they’re scared or sad. So, we prayed for the kids who bullied her to feel safe so their hearts could grow big enough to fit joy and kindness in.

Then we practiced ways she could have clearer conversations and better engage with people she’s meeting for the first time. She was so sweet while we role-played but at one point got frustrated after tripping over the same word twice, smacked herself in the forehead and blurted, “I’m sorry I talk funny, Mama.” At which point I had to bite my lip to keep from crying while gently explaining that despite speech therapy, she might always speak English differently than people who grew up in America because she spent her early years in a different country with a completely different language called Creole. I encouraged her to keep working on her language skills, but said I thought her way of speaking English was lovely because it had a musical cadence.

She fixed her big brown eyes on mine and nodded soberly while I explained that some people will initially miss her heart because their first assessment of her will simply be that she’s “different.” However, once they get to know how awesome she actually is, they’d be crazy if they didn’t want to be her friend. As you can imagine, I didn’t sleep very well after putting Missy to bed. I just kept tossing and turning and praying for Jesus and His angel armies to protect the softest parts of my little girl from the sharpest edges of life.

We had another sweet conversation the next morning over breakfast and practiced “bringing out the best in bullies” again on the way to her day camp. But I’m telling you it was all I could do not to turn the car around and drive to some imaginary happy place where I could better protect her from the large rocks that sometimes even little people sling. Being Missy’s mama is the most beautiful gift—second only to my relationship with Jesus—God has blessed me with. But it can still be a brutal kind of beautiful. And a poignant reminder to treat others the way I want to be treated—even more so, the way I want my daughter to be treated.

• When have you felt like the target of a bully throwing rocks?
• Did any of the rocks connect with your heart? If so, how did you respond?
• Have you ever prayed for the bullies in your life? Why or why not?