Thank You For Mistreating Me

As children, we've all experienced siblings or classmates that don't want to play with us. They exclude us from games, they ignore us, they call us names. Oftentimes, we don't understand why this behavior is happening. We chalk it up to possible moodiness. One moment we're friends, the next we're ignored. We are resilient enough to find someone else to play with.

When, however, we are called names and or ignored by our parents or siblings, the feelings we experience are different. How can people who we trust to love and protect us also cause us hurt by yelling. ignoring, and belittling us? At times, we may be told we're stupid, lazy, useless, always in the way, etc. We grow up believing what we're told.

As we enter relationships and marriages we encounter the possibilities of additional mistreatment. When a marriage ends, and you don't get the financial support you need, you feel slighted. When you're accused of wrongdoing or you're judged incorrectly, the unfairness can get to us.

Well, I say thank you!! Thank you to all the people who never thought I'd amount to anything. Thank you for not believing in me, for not supporting me. I didn't understand what the root cause of the mistreatment was and why it was happening in my life.

What I do know now is that I can stand on my own. People not wanting to include me in things taught me how to fend for myself. Excluding me from conversations, ignoring me, treating me as though I was insignificant taught me to trust in myself, to trust my judgements and decisions. For those that hated me,  thank you. You forced me to take a good look at myself and to make changes in my life. This caused me to believe in myself. The mistreatment matured me. Most of all, it led me to becoming a believer in Jesus Christ. I learned and understand now that God had a plan for me.

The trials and tribulations that I went through helped transform me into who God wanted me to be. Put your faith in the Lord. Allow Him to show you how you're belief will make you stronger. You will no longer have to ask why me; you can feel safe in knowing that you too will overcome the mistreatment.

So, for those of you who have suffered some type of mistreatment, thank the perpetrator(s) and thank God for showing you the way to a better life.