The other day, Ellie got off the bus and said, "That mean girl sat with me today."
WHAT!? After all that, that bully had the nerve to sit with her again?? My blood pressure immediately shot up and I was ready to call her teacher right away. Wait, calm down, I told myself. I calmly asked her very casually why the bully had sat with her.
"She didn't sit with me. I sat with her."
"What?" (unable to hide my shock)
"She asked me to sit with her and I did. We talked and she showed me her new toy. Its a puppy toy and it was so cute. And I met her friend and she was nice too."
I am completely amazed. My sweet, kind girl was brave enough to give a bully a second chance. I wouldn't have. I would have said, "No way I'm sitting with you." I would have ignored her. But Ellie didn't. After all that girl put her through, she took a chance and risked getting bullied again to reach out – to an older girl – and try to be her friend.
Ellie told me all about how nice the girl was and how they now wave and say "hi" when they see each other in the hallway or in the cafeteria. How she is so glad that this girl has changed and decided to be loving to others. And how happy she is that God used her to help and to show this girl how Jesus wants us to act towards others.
This is my daughter.
I'm in awe of her. I am challenged by her.
And I am humbled that God chose me to be her Mama.
About Melissa
Way to go, Ellie! And trust me, Melissa, she isn’t a better person from you. She learned it from her wonderful mother.
Oh Ellie is one amazing kids. She is better person than I, and she learned from a great Mom!
Beautiful! I have heard of cases in which one child bullies another because they want to be her friend but don’t know how to go about it the correct way. Maybe that was the case with this girl and once she was called on her behavior she realized that waht she was doing was the wrong way of getting Ellie’s attention.
Also, my son and I just borrowed a book from the library regarding bullying. I think my three year old is a little too young to get the concept the author is trying to convey, althought he likes the book, but the book may be perfect for your daughter’s age. The author used colors and numbers to very creatively address this issue. It’s called “One” by Kathryn Otoshi.
Wow, that brought a tear to my eye. What a wonderful and precious little girl she is!
Wow. I’m so happy for you and her. What an amazing end to that story. Look at her in that photo – a little woman…
And I think I have a picture of Sam and me standing at that very same train spot at the F.I.:)
Ellie sounds like a great little girl!
I awarded you a blog award!
http://beforethebabywakes.blogspot.com/2009/09/bloggy-award.html
amazing. you must be doing something right! and how sweet to see God working in her heart at this tender young age.
thanks for the tip, Incognito Mom! i’ll check that out at the library today!
thanks for the award, alexandria!! you’re so sweet!
I loved reading this post today. Your daughter is very kind and thoughtful. We could all take a lesson from her on how she treated that girl.
Amazing! Way to go Ellie!
wow. i just had tears in my eyes reading this. way to go ellie
Good job Ellie! Sometimes, my girls act like a bigger person than I would be. They never cease to amaze me.
Give her a hug from all your bloggy friends!