The other day, I was pelted in the back of my head by a slushy snowball. It wasn’t a fun snowball fight with the kids in the backyard before all the snow melted away. Far from it. A boy was standing on the sidewalk outside the elementary school, waiting until my son and I walked past him. Easy targets. As the snow slid down my neck, a hundred thoughts raced through my head. But all I could say was, “That wasn’t very nice.”
His response??? “I was aiming for him.”
Meaning my son. “That still wasn’t very nice.” I responded, in a surprisingly gentle tone. I surprised myself! And we walked into my daughter’s day care to pick her up.
When I was young, I was an easy target. I had an unfortunate last name, thick, plastic glasses, and a poodle perm that was just what you would imagine. I was also painfully shy and insecure. I had been the target of slushy snowballs before, and it broke my heart to think that my son would be a target as well. I was thankful that my internal instinct to fight back and go into mama bear mode was overtaken by my desire to remain calm and collected in a tough situation.
Then I got home and shared this experience with my husband. He told me that this same child had hit him with a snowball just the week before.
Say what????
Suddenly, this wasn’t about us being easy targets. I mean, we were, but this wasn’t about us and who we were. It was about a child, who seems to be desperate for attention. Any kind of attention. And I felt my heart softening towards this boy. I have no idea what his home dynamics are like, but I do understand a child’s desire for attention. I see it every day in my own kids as they eagerly jump up from the kitchen table when I walk in the door.
This entire experience put the following verses on my heart:
To be honest, this passage is on my heart frequently. It is a favorite at kids church on Sunday mornings, and I love singing along with the worship song they use. But even more, to embody these qualities is a challenge each and every day. I was glad in that moment that I did not give into my internal demons and spew anger towards that little boy. It meant I succeeded, in that moment, to live out the fruit of the spirit and hopefully rub off on him… even just a little.
Love, Grace, and Friends 