Bullies Call Her a “Dirty Spotty Dog”When I Heard What Mom Calls Her Moles, I Was Bawling!

She’s been called hideous her whole life, but this teen’s response is the last thing I expected! So powerful.

If your child looked like this, would you have the courage to call each spot an angel kiss?

Ciera Swaringens mother did. The now 19-year-old girl was born with giant congenital melanocytic nevus, a noncancerous skin condition affecting only 1 in 20,000 newborns, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“I remember when I started school my mom told me that my birthmarks were angel kissesand that really stuck with me, Ciera told The Mirror, and my dad is the first person to stand up to defend me if anyone says anything horrible to me.

She was cruelly taunted as a child about her mole-clad exterior, accounting for nearly three-quarters of her body, which is anticipated to spread even more over time. In response to the ridicule, Ciera has championed an inspiring attitude that she attributes to the unfailing support of her family and small-town community.

Im so proud to be different, and at the end of the day, we all have something about us thats unusual, whether its on the inside or the outside, she expressed to The Mirror. Everyone is born to look different, and we should all feel beautiful in our own skin.

While classmates called her dirty or spotty dog, it is her mothers words of wisdom and her fathers promises of protection that have stuck with her and overruled the criticism, even into her early adult years. In a culture where teens are easily influenced by the opinions of their peers, its refreshing to hear a real-life testimony of Proverbs 22:6: Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Normally, we reflect on the more tangible aspect of this verse as it relates to behavior, but it can be equally applicable in the ways that parents influence belief through instilling the identity, character and attitude that carries their children into adulthood. In Cieras case, she was trained early on to be resolute in her uniqueness, to walk with a confident poise that proclaims to the world I am unapologetically me, and to see socially-scarring birthmarks as kisses from an angel. What her mother may have intended to be mere encouragement turned into a mantra for her daughters life that boldly declared beauty in a world that tried to mark her as beast.

While its relatively easy for parents to see the best in their children, its harder for the world and even harder for that little boy or girl with the large nose, the learning disability or the not-so-Cosmo complexion to see his/her oddity or eccentricity as beauty.

So my charge to you, Mom and Dad, is to never underestimate the positive power of your words, for Ciera is living proof that they can short-circuit those of the world and empower your children to believe the best in themselvesand more importantly, to see themselves as Christ sees them: pure, blameless and beautiful.

Call the one who hides behind your leg brave, the one with ADHD smart and the scrawny one strong. We serve a God who calls that what is not as though it is (Romans 4:17), so dont limit yourself in how you proclaim life over your children.

After all, if you call the kid in glasses Clark Kent before his classmates call him four eyes, he has a way better shot at becoming Superman

Read more: http://www.faithit.com/bullied-teen-moles-body-strength-love-parents/

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