Sweatpants

Joy Ryan, President/CEO

I know there are lots of good things about social media. Heavens, we even use social media at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch to celebrate, talk about our thrift stores, and recruit employees. My oldest daughter runs a very successful real estate business, using social media as her operational platform.

I simply choose not to participate. My committed absence started over 30 years ago, when Facebook was “cool” and my oldest (the same one mentioned above), then a teenager, told me that “old people don’t belong on Facebook.” Since I was obviously already tremendously old by then, I saw no reason to create my own page. It was more apathy than a statement.

As time has gone on, I have seen the ugly side of social media in the kids at the Ranch. The damage done through bullying, lying, pornography, etc., has further dampened my enthusiasm for personal involvement.

Hence, I am a bad resource to discover what is “trending.”

So, when one of our day students came into my office with a saying embroidered down the leg of his sweatpants, I had to ask him about it. It said, “Hating me won’t make you pretty.”

“Is that the lyric from a song?” I asked him.

“No, it’s something you say to someone online who is ‘dissing’ you,” he answered.

Thankfully, I know “dissing” means disrespecting, dismissing, bullying.

“My cousin gave them to me, cause I get bullied a lot and she said I needed to not believe people when they tell me I’m s—.”

Yup, he swore. But he was simply reporting what he had been told.

“Does it help?” I asked.

“Yeah, because I know she doesn’t think I’m s—.”

I wanted to find his cousin and hug her.

I reminded him to watch his language and sent him off to class.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” —Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

Sometimes the Lord’s support comes through a cousin and a pair of sweatpants.

Please keep the staff and precious children of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch in your prayers.