When Their Little Hearts Hurt

Her little voice piped up from the back seat:

“No one played with me today. I played by myself.

Everyone said I wasn’t pretty or gorgeous (which is her ultimate compliment)”

And there it was.

When I knew I was having girls – I started worrying immediately.  I knew I would think they were perfect. But I also knew at some point SOME ONE would maybe think they weren’t.  DAGGAR to this mommy heart.

I know that no matter how pretty or sweet she is – not every kid at school or church or on the playground will like her.  Some might even be mean to her.  Kids will leave her out.  Mean girls will say ugly things.  I want to put her in a bubble and never let a negative thing happen to her.  But how will she grow? How will she learn?

I’m thankful to take everything as a lesson.  I’m glad I can tell her it hurts when people are unkind and hope that she learns to not treat people that way.  We learn from our experiences, don’t we? I’m thankful for every hard thing in my life because it has taught me empathy for others. It has taught me you can’t judge a book by a cover.

I will always say and mean it that I don’t care if my girls are the smartest or the most athletic or the prettiest girls around.  To me – kindness goes so much further in this world than any of those things.  God says in the Bible that our greatest commandment is to “love our neighbor as ourselves”.

Yes – I’m dreading the days to come when my girls don’t get invited to parties. I’m dreading the day when a boy rejects them.  Or when the cool kids don’t invite them to sit at the lunch table with them.  I will wipe their tears and hold their hands and speak truth into their hearts.  And pray that every hurt will bring them closer to the heart that will be a heart that points people to Jesus.