Be Yourself

I know that those of you who follow my blog do so to find inspiration in scrapbooking, cardmaking and other crafty things.  Today I'm writing about something entirely different because I'm sitting here thinking about what some childlren go through in life.

My granddaughter turned 13 yesterday, which is probably what got me to thinking in the first place.  She is a darling girl who has been a ballet dancer since the age of 4.  Tall and slim, she has a way about her that is graceful and  sort of sophisticated.  She has that artistic bent that follows through in her clothing choices.  She has long blond hair but sometimes wears a short black wig.  She will wear a tutu outside of dance class over leggings, mismatched socks (which someone has turned into an industry) and skirts as tops.  You get the idea.  She is unique in a tasteful way.

Her parents, both artistic themselves, have allowed her to be herself, while keeping her age appropriate.  My son, her father, was a fine arts major in college and wore his hair down the middle of his back, sort of like Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers.  I'm sure no one picks on Clay because of his hair, and if anyone picked on Eric he wouldn't care, or so he says.   But they are men, big strong men.  

This uniqueness, artistic flair, whatever you want to call it,  has caused my granddaughter a lot of  misery because of the bullying by kids in her school.  Yes, she could conform and maybe it would stop but then where is "she" in that?  She is strong but at 13, how strong can you be?  I say all this only to make you aware of what is happening to our children today.  It's not only the mentally and physically handicapped, or the "nerds" or the gays that are being bullied, but anyone who tries to follow their heart and mind and be who God made them to be.

My prayer for today, and everyday,  is for open mindedness, tolerance and love for all God's children.