Today is the Day of Silence.....

..... and I'm speaking up.

I'm speaking up for the kids who can't.

Bullying is a real and devastating reality.

I'm a mom. My children are in elementary school. My middle daughter has Tourette's Syndrome and has to cope with her tics - which get worse with stress. She is bullied due to her tics - something she has very little control over. My kids go to a Christian school.

Supporting, comforting, coaching and encouraging my daughter is a daily commitment. I wrestle with feeling helpless, angry, and grieved at times. My comfort is that my daughter knows she is loved. She knows she is valued and of immense and inestimable value. My comfort is that my daughter knows the power of the Holy Spirit living in her.

What about the young kids who are bullied, not for their tics, but because they look different? Gender non-conform? Are assumed gay? Or just labelled gay to humiliate, shame and frighten?

Do these kids know they are loved? Do they know they are valued and have immense value?

Let this Day of Silence be the day Christ-followers speak up for all the kids who endure anti-gay taunting. Let us be the first to say:

"You are loved. You are valued. You have inestimable value."

Warren Throckmorton posted this video on his blog - and I too want to share it to remind all of us of the sobering reality that anti-gay bullying and harassment have devastating and deadly consequences. Let's be part of a redemptive reversal, bearers of shalom, as we speak up for justice.