We are all beautiful in God's sight

Today, I saw a commercial that reminded me of a boy I knew while I was attending a private school during my grammar school years. The commercial contains a boy who is quite overweight and steps on a drink pouch and vaporizes. The commercial boy reminded me of the boy in school I knew not only because of his size but because the likeness in his facial features which were quite uncanny.
The boy I knew in school was overweight and smelled but had a heart of gold. He only wanted for someone to love him--sadly love was not to come from his peers. Nine year old boys and girls can be awfully mean. Most of the children in our class made fun of him and not just behind his back. He took most of the teasing in stride even though you could see the hurt on his face.
When we would play tag during recess, he would always volunteer to be "it". He would chase everyone around saying ,"Huggy, I want a huggy!" Even though, we were playing, you could see that all he really wanted was maybe a hug and definitely a little acceptance.
Finally, the school administrator was told of the situation and was extremely displeased. He pulled the boy out of class, gave him a basketball and told him to go play ball in the gymnasium and then he turned his attention to the class. I remember him telling the entire class that what we were doing was completely un-Christlike and that he was ashamed of all of us. He went on to chastise us saying that if he heard so much as a negative peep from any of us that he would expel each and every one of us.
Needless to say, the boy's school life improved from then on and he started receiving "huggys". In this I also realized how wrong I had been to sit around and do nothing before. By doing nothing, I was hurting him more then if I had joined in on the teasing. You see, I had previously come from a school where the children had teased me mercilessly and I didn't want to be made fun of through association.
Today, I am reminded of 1 Samuel 16:7 which says, "...the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." How great is it, that no matter if we are too tall, too short, too fat, too skinny or just plain ugly to our peers, we are beautiful in God's sight!

Tina Burton