Like in many other homes, The Jesus Storybook Bible is a favorite for both my children and myself. Sally Lloyd-Jones does a great job at walking the fine line of writing the biblical stories in a simple way without losing the clarity and depth of the truths found in God’s Word.
I just heard a radio show where she was interviewed. She talked about her latest book, Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing. The interviewer asked her why she wrote this book. She said her niece was being bullied in school and she wanted her to have a devotional that would help her see what God has to say about who she is in Him!
We have been learning lots of life lessons the past few weeks. One of my sons was recently involved in an activity where he was being harassed by a child 5 years his senior. My son enjoyed the activity, but his experience was clouded by the actions of this boy. One day I picked him up and he said “I feel so bad about myself because of all the names this boy calls me.”
As a homeschooler, bullying is one thing we don’t come across much. This experience has helped me understand how helpless a parent can feel when their child is being bullied in school. My heart broke when I looked into my child’s eyes and heard him tell me these words. I know his heart, his gifts, how unique the Lord has made him, how awesome he is. I was so angry to hear about how this 13-year-old boy, even if for a moment, was making my son doubt his self-worth. I couldn’t find the words to counter-act the effect they were having on him.
Needless to say, we pulled our son out of this situation, especially since the adults involved where not taking appropriate action. Now, we are using this experience to teach him and his brothers bigger lessons:
• How can we implement Jesus’ command of loving our enemies? What does that look like?
• How can we be a light, in this situation for the boy in question and those around?
• Where do we find our identity and our worth, in spite of how others treat us or what they say about us?
This last one is a big one. This is one I am still learning myself! What an awesome thing to learn with my children! To find our identity and worth in Him; to learn to see ourselves the way our Savior sees us! What inner peace this will bring them, and me!
I am thinking this will be a nice gift to give to the boys for Christmas. I look forward to reading this book with them, and together learning to embrace God’s grace! As it helps us search the Scriptures, I look forward to learning to appreciate the Gospel in a much more practical way with my children…and truly celebrate Jesus’ gift to us…His unconditional love!
As a mom who had 2 girls bullied I understand this completely. I don’t know what would have happened had we not had our Rock to stand on. We prayed for our “enemies” every day beginning in 1st grade for my oldest. It went on for years, not always the same group of children. Every year the answer to my prayers to bring them home was (what I thought then) “No.” I now know God was saying “wait”. My girls, specifically my oldest, have such solid faith and identity in Christ because of this. I never would have chosen bullying as a way to grow my daughters faith. I cried and begged God to remove it. I remember my daughter at 8 years old, after reading about Nebekenezzer being turned into a beast so he could come to God, sharing “Mommy this is why God put those mean girls in my class. So, I could come closer to Him.” That was 6 years ago and it still rips my heart to pieces. God made the way for all of my girls to come home last fall. I praise and thank Him every day for this blessing. We are still undoing damage done to my middle daughter. I can’t imagine repairing this precious child without Christ to heal her. This book will be such an amazing resource to children and parents suffering through the same experience.
Wow! Thanks for sharing this Jen! I can only imagine how difficult this must have been for your girls, and for you!! We only dealt with this for a few weeks and I’m taking it harder than them! What’s most difficult feeling like the adults that should have been supervising didn’t care enough to do something about it. It’s so hard not to take it personal
You are so right that we desparately need Jesus in this situation. There is no other way to ground their self esteem in a healthy and permanent way!
It is a great life lesson though. My husband and I were talking about how you deal with issues like this even as an adult. You will always find people that don’t like you or that say things that hurt you. I pray that they learn to not have these things shake them.
Have you read this book? Are there other children’s book that have helped you in this area?