Katie's prayer: David Crowder Band's "...neverending...."

Making our whole existence
Worth something so we sing

Sometimes my heart breaks when I hear about what my kids have to go through. One of my kids has some social problems, and as such been bullied his whole life. During the transition from middle school to high school, the bullying got worse. That’s when he started telling his parents that he was going to kill himself. Then he started coming to Confirmation class and youth group. The change in him has been noticeable. Both his mom and his grandma have approached me several times thanking me. They say, “I don’t know what you’re doing, but whatever you’re doing, it’s working.” He’s stared talking about doing more in his faith life - getting an ipod app that has the weekly Mass readings - and actually reading them before he comes to Mass! (sometimes, I even fail at doing that!) When they thank me, the same thought always passes my mind - it’s not me, it’s God, God is making the difference, I just made a place for him to encounter God.

That’s why what happened last night is all the more disturbing. It was the second to last Confirmation session (and honestly, the last, cause the next one is just dinner). We began with a fun game of hot potato with some dollar balls from walmart, with consequences for those who got stuck with them when the music stopped. Supposed to be a fun game. Until 3-4 boys decided it’d be fun to pelt the balls at this kid. Round two, I told them to gently toss, no pelting balls. They didn’t listen. Round three, the boys sat out. The night continued with the lesson, where these same boys continued to pick on this kid - being smart about it and waiting til I wasn’t looking. Church, it’s the one place you should be free from bullying, the one place you should feel safe. It’s also the one place where this kid encountered God and where he felt his existence was actually worth something.

The entire class got a good talking to (without this kid present) from one of the parents who was present. I am eternally grateful to her because she did what I could not - be a complete b***h to these kids when they really needed it. Some of the girls present for this talking to actually thanked her for her speech. I saw the looks in the eyes of those kids during and after the talk. I can guarantee you they were affected by it, and will probably think twice about being mean again. But I’m more worried with how the night affected that one kid. I hope and I pray that this night did not change his view of the Church. I hope and I pray that the months of work helping him to encounter God and realizing his life is worth something has not been undone in one night. Tonight, my prayer is for him, and I’m requesting that your prayer be for him as well.