My heart hurts...

We were coming home from church last night and Ben starts crying. I mean REALLY crying, not whining and complaining, but full on tears. Already my heart just starts aching for him. He has never cried much and when he does it just makes me want to grab him and hold him. So, that's just what I did.

When we got inside I sat down on the couch with him and ask him why he was crying. He told me it was because he tried so hard to be kind to his sister, but it just wasn't working. It worked at church, but for some reason it wasn't working in the car. You see this is something that we pray about every night. Ever since Ben learned about the fruits of the spirit in Sunday School he has been praying for God to help him with all of them, but especially kindness.

So my heart is already just breaking for him, but then he precedes to tell me about his best friend at school and how no one wants to play with this little boy. He tells me that he thinks it is good to play with all his other friends, because everyone is his friend. (And if you have ever met Ben you would know that this is definitely true.) But the other little friends don't really like this little boy and are a little mean to him, and then he tells Ben that he won't be his friend anymore if he plays with him.

Well...I will tell you that my heart is hurting for both Ben and this little boy. I try to explain in terms that my son will understand that sometimes you have to stand up for your friends even though I might seem hard. But it is also okay if he wants to play with his other friends. By the time the conversation is over I want to cry and I feel like I have not helped him at all. However, when I ask him if he feels better he says yes and that he wants to pray for his friends.

Even though my heart hurts I am so glad that he is so empathetic and hope that he continues to be such a kind and loving boy. Being a mom is so hard!