Jenni and Bullying

Something happened last week that we didn't expect.

Jenni, Joshua's girlfriend was cyber-bullied. And it broke our hearts.

It happened on Instagram.

You have to know a little about Jenni. She never meets a stranger. Never. And, after she meets you, she usually wants to add you on Facebook or Instagram. If she has your cell phone number, be prepared...she probably will call or text you at some point.

The girl is tech savvy.

And innocent.

And pretty much loves everyone she meets.

So, no one expected that a total stranger would get on her Instagram account and make horrible, nasty comments on some of her pictures.

Who DOES that?

Jenni has Down Syndrome, just like my Joshua. She has great parents. She has a supportive older sister and brother. She has an aunt and a cousin and tons of great friends. As parents, we try to monitor our children's social media sites...but when they are 25 years old and they want to be like everyone else...and they already feel like they are limited in many ways...and they want a little bit of independence...we try to back off and give it when we can.

Because we trust that most people are good, because they are; that most people have good intents and purposes, because they do; and that most people would not prey on or hurt an innocent because they would never in a million years do something like that.

But people have and people do. It happens every day.

So we step back and pull away and change settings to keep things safe.

And the person was reported.

But trust is lost and a heart is broken...and the negative thoughts come out. The thoughts that every girl and boy and woman and man have about themselves...the ones that we fight; the ones that we push to the back; the ones that roll around in our heads and come out when we look in the mirror or try on clothes or walk into the school cafeteria or try out for a team or interview for a job...

The thoughts that tell you:

"You're ugly..."
"You're fat..."
"You'll never make it..."
"You can't do this..."
"You don't deserve to live..."
"You deserve to be treated this way..."
"God could never love you"

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves..." Proverbs 31:8a