Please Don’t Hurt Me

FOOD FOR THE SOUL

  How many times have each of us said that to ourselves?  “Please don’t hurt me!”  I have been taught from a young age to try to obey the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Jesus taught this to his followers, my parents taught it to me, and I have taught this to my children.  Now, I will be the first to admit that I don’t follow this rule every day, but it always pops into my mind when I am about to do something that may hurt someone.  There are times in my life when I simply didn’t want to follow this rule, because it felt better to hurt someone as much they hurt me.  I think that is just human nature.  I have never figured out why  a person has just lash out in anger, not to argue a point, but to deliver a stinging personal barb at that person.

  I have worked as a correctional nurse for over 20 years and have been “bullied” many times.  I am overweight, and this seems to be the precursor to the names I am called.  “You fat a** nurse”, “You need to go on a diet, fat a**, on and on and on and on. I had to stand at the door of a cell and take repeated verbal abuse because the patient had his pills and I could not leave until either he took them, or until I got them back.  He, in turn, knew this and went for it.  I remained stoic, for I would not let him know how deeply his words were hurting me.  After about 5 minutes of name calling, he took the meds, and I was allowed to leave.  After returning to the nurses office, I then broke into tears, being comforted by my fellow co-worker.  It really makes me wonder what possesses a person to verbally abuse another human being.  In that situation he would have leashed out at me and found another “flaw” of mine,  had I not been overweight, because he was mentally ill.  But he was not ill enough to not know he was hurting another person with his words.  The world is full of bullies and they come in all shapes, sizes and colors.  They begin at an early age, and generally learn these behaviors at home.  It is a vicious cycle and the cycle needs to end.

  My children have all been bullied at one time or another, as have a majority of the kids they grew up with.  I have always told them to just say “whatever” and walk away….but what happens if you have walked away so many times that you just aren’t going to take it anymore?  You guessed it, it turns into violence and more pain.  Many times the person that lashes out in violence was a person bullied, and simply couldn’t take it anymore.  Then there are those teenagers, and adults alike, who are bullied so much that they take their own lives to stop the pain.  This brings me to my point—->  Why do children and adults bully?  What is so awful in their lives that makes them feel that they have the right to hurt others?  Why would  a person feel they are allowed to physically strike another person in anger?  What makes a man lay his hands on his wife in anger, or even a wife beating up her husband?  Why would a spouse remain in a situation where she or he is beaten down either physically or verbally?  Are these kids seeing this behavior at home, and reason that it must be ok, so why not mirror that behavior with others?

  October is Anti-bullying month, and I want to get my voice out there too.  I don’t want my child to be afraid to go to school.  I don’t ever want to be in a relationship where I am not valued as a partner.  Words often times hurt worse than physical blows.  You can’t ever take back words you have spoken in anger, and those words remain in a person’s heart for a long time. Please if you are reading this, stop and count to 10 when you are about to say something that will hurt someone, especially if that person is someone you love.  Don’t raise you hand to another person..EVER!  There is no reason on this earth for physical violence between yourself and those you love, no matter how angry or disappointed you are.  Kids, remember when you “kid” someone about their hair, braces, acne, shoes, how bad they play sports, their grades, etc….it may not be kidding to them.  They may be painfully aware of these flaws, and YOU HAVE NO RIGHT to hurt them.  Try praising someone, or giving someone a compliment, or just listening when they something to say.  Everyone….remember the golden rule and maybe we will all be winners ♥

FOOD FOR THE BODY

Baked Chicken with Dressing Casserole

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken soup

1-2 cups boxed chicken stuffing

1/3 cup water

4 slices Swiss Cheese

1/2 cup melted margarine or butter

Place chicken in a greased 13×9 casserole dish.

Place slice of cheese on each breast.

Dilute soup with 1/3 cup water and pour over chicken.

Sprinkle stuffing over top of chicken,

Pour melted butter over stuffing.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Allow to stand 15 minutes before serving.