Sticks & Stones

As a kid I remember hearing "Sticks and stones may break your bones may break your bones but words can never hurt you", I remember feeling like that wasn't really accurate. I was a smart kid because I would eventually learn that sticks and stones CAN break your bones but words.. they can break your spirit.

Now, I need you to understand that I'm not angry. All is forgiven, but the preschool teacher inside of me feels like we NEED to change the way we treat each other. The way we talk about each other. As humans, but especially as women. There's a girl who used to know my boy friend and for whatever reason, she's not my biggest fan. She sent a text one night, a text she probably doesn't even remember yet I have such a hard time forgetting. A text to my boyfriend saying something along the lines of "You are too good looking for her!" or something else strategically worded to get the point across...that I was in no way good enough for him.

Now at first this really confused me, this girl, she doesn't even know me. She doesn't know how hard I try to be a good friend, she doesn't know how hard I work to make the people around me feel special, and she doesn't know how hard I love. She sure doesn't know that my relationship she thinks so little of is one of the most important things to me and something I pray over all the time. And like I said, at first I was confused, but then I was hurt. Something else she didn't know is that my parents' 22 year marriage had just ended with the words "not good enough", so I guess you could say her ugly text hit home for me. But how could a stranger know that? How her words could hurt my heart and break my spirit.

She couldn't have. And that's my point exactly. There is so much more to people's lives then what we share in our perfectly candid photos on Insta. You just never know. But this is what I do know, we all are sisters in Christ. We are called to lift each other up, not tear each other down. As young women in this generation we are walking through battles daily, with other people, with our own minds, and with Satan himself. Let's not add any unnecessary battle scars, because I promise I will always remember how that stupid text made me feel. I let it get to me and I almost believed it. But I am a daughter of King, and he says the fight with those ugly words and all of my insecurities, is not one worth fighting because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. His words go above all else. (But hey, my boyfriend thinks I'm pretty great too)