Mean Girls

Last week, one of my friends and I went to see Legally Blonde, musical. It was loads of fun and definitely a girls night. Or as we like to call it Sarah and Kerri's Date night. We had dinner before hand at Cafe 4 really close to the theater. There were lots of other women there on a date night before going to see the play. If you're familiar with the movie Legally Blonde, than you're familiar with the musical. It was the same only with music and maybe a little more humor. There's a part in the beginning where the main character, Elle Woods isn't prepared for class. When the professor asks a fellow female classmate what should happen to her, the girl says she would kick her out. Elle's response was we girls need to stick together. Something about the scene stuck with me. I was surrounded by many women of different backgrounds and ages enjoying this girls night. It got me thinking that yes we girls need to stick together. We need to launch an attack on all mean girls. And we've all been a mean girl at some point in our lives. It saddens me to think that it starts young and continues on into adult hood even though we think of it as only a teenage girl problem.
Later that evening, I got a voice mail from a good friend who has a daughter in second grade. The second grader is one of my most favorite children. She's sweet, smart, inquisitive and sensitive. I've never seen her be mean to anyone (except for maybe her younger brother). My friend was concerned because her 7 year old daughter was experiencing mean girls in second grade. Another little girl was ignoring her each time she tried to play with her on the playground. My friend was wanting to know if I had witnessed any of this on the playground and wasn't really sure what to do. Sure enough, the next day, the girl came and hugged me for a good five minutes. She was having trouble finding someone to play with and it broke my heart.
I'm sure that there are mean girls in your life even as an adult and I'm sure that there are moments when you are a mean girl. I know that I have my mean girl moments even when I try not to. This past week was a reminder to me that we need to encourage our young girls to stick together and we need to stick together. I try really hard to be a good role model for the girls that I come into contact with. My students at school and the youth at church. Two Sundays ago, I realized I have another important role model position as an aunt. My niece, Sophie, was christened on October 24th. As my sister and brother in law stood before the church and promised to raise Sophie in a christian environment, the church promised to support that family. I realized that I was promising to be a good christian woman role model for my niece. I look up to my aunts and the women in my life and Sophie is going to do the same. So starting with myself, I'm going to try to watch my tongue and try not to say disparaging things but only things that lift others. Together we can eliminate mean girls.
Ephesians 4: 29 - Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.