I was at a playground with my children one day and noticed a couple little boys playing together on the slide.
One of the little boys, whom I will call Boy A, accidently caused the little Boy B, to stumble and fall. Boy A, was either careless or unaware of any trouble he caused and continued on his play without checking on his fallen friend. Boy B sat on the ground and cried about the tumble Boy A had caused him.
Boy B’s, grandma was sitting beside me on the bench.
I expected her to jump up and check out little Boy B. Perhaps give him kisses and pats, telling him it was “OK.”
But she didn’t!
She didn’t budge instead she called to him,
“Awe…Brush it off and get up.”
“Brush it off? Get up?”
I had never heard such a phrase shouted by anyone at a play-ground. Most parents see themselves as their child’s defender and security and would certainly side with the child’s response in some way.
But, “Brush it off?” Those words were unexpected. There was no coddling. No sympathetic, “I know you were wronged, Honey, I am so sorry.”
Unstead, she was teaching that little guy to respond in an amazing way. I soaked in her words.
What an incredible lesson for our emotionally sensative society to hear from this Grandma.
For me, I have re-itterated those words often to my children since that day. It will be an incredible strength to them someday if they can learn how to move on past how they are wronged. Because playground wrongs, are nothing compared to wounds they be given through the years.
How can a person learn to move on, forgive, not let mistreatment be taken personaly?
By teaching that little soul how to resoond at a young age by brushing it off and getting up.
There is more to life that nursing grudges and living in a bitterly bent fashion. I know our world is bitter. It is full of people who believe everything and everyone is against them. If more children were taught to brush it off and get up, what a socity of strong, confident, and brave people we would have!
We cannot be responsible for how we are treated by others in life, but we certainly choose how we respond to being mis-treated. Wallowing in self-pity about such things is not only a futile responce, but a responce that prevents us from moving on a living life to the fullness God has for us!
So are the words I speak to my own soul hears over and over, “Brush it off”
“And get up.”
“We cannot be responsible for how we are treated by others in life, but we certainly choose how we respond to being mis-treated.”
Rebecca, this was beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing. I am with you on this. Yes, we can’t control what others do to us, but we can choose how we are going to respond to mistreatment, and we need to respond with God’s love, grace and forgiveness.
You are so right, Rebecca. Many folks seem to have lost their resiliency, and a life without it is seriously hampered. Not sure how we teach that quality to our children other than by experience. That Grandma had probably learned to “brush it off” when she was and knew her grandson could do the same. Coddling (as we see so often these days!) is counter-productive. P.S. Thank you so much for becoming a follower of my blog, From the Inside Out. I pray you’ll find the posts meaningful whenever you’re able to visit!