The bully-ing Epidemic

This week I read about a little girl in elementary school who committed suicide because her peers were bullying her. My heart grieved for the little girl, her family and all of the other young ladies (children) being bullied in the world.

Today I shared her story with the young ladies in my mentorship group and we talked about the importance of effective communication, understanding and processing our emotions and having a healthy outlet to express our feelings. Each mentorship session we recite affirmations, and I always encourage the young ladies to recite them every day, and even throughout the day to affirm whom they are, so that they walk in that awareness daily!

During our last session we talked about the power of forgiveness and how we need to make it a lifestyle. The young ladies began to share their experiences with their peers and in that moment, I heard what they were saying and even what they weren’t saying. I told them exactly what God thought about them and how much He absolutely loves them! I told them to NEVER EVER accept anything less than who they are and if someone was giving them less, then they needed to get a third-party involved. I encouraged them to keep the lines of communication open with their parents, talk to their school counselor and even the principal if necessary.

At the beginning of our sessions, I always ask the young ladies how they’re doing and how’s school going. Today, one of the young ladies told me she had a testimony! She shared with the group how she had been experiencing bullying all this school year and how she really started thinking about our discussion from our last session. She said the bullying really started to take a toll on her, and what “they” were saying about her isn’t who she affirms herself to be when she says her affirmations every day. She then said she asked herself “Why am I putting up with this?” She told her father what was going on, he went up to the school that day to talk to the principal, and since that day she hasn’t experienced any more bullying! We all celebrated with her!

There is nothing new under the sun and bullying has been occurring since the beginning of time. It is an epidemic that needs to cease in its existence immediately! The enemy comes to steal, KILL and destroy and he is targeting our generation of children, with the goal of killing them off before they reach adulthood so that they don’t live to fulfill their divine purpose in life. BUT God’s plan is always GREATER!

I told the young ladies today:

If you don’t get anything else out of this mentorship, know THIS:

1. God loves you very much (and so do I)!
2. Your life has purpose and God has a great plan for your life!
3. You are important to this world…don’t EVER let anyone tell you otherwise!

I don’t know why God chose me to be a mentor to the young ladies in my community, and in time, around the world-we’re still talking about that-however I accept my global assignment with grace, because the part I do know is: God chose me because He knew I was enough and that I had everything in me needed to fulfill this part of my purpose. Being a mentor is a true honor and a privilege that keeps me humble, and that I don’t take lightly.

I encourage you to pay attention to the children in and around your life. Ask them how they are doing, what’s going on at school and about their friends. Be intentional concerning your interactions with them. Tell them you love them and that you’re always there for them. Spend quality time with them. Show them you care by being present in their life. (Y)our children need you to be a positive influence in their life, and in a lot of cases, their voice.

Blessings, light, love and peace!