Girl reacts to her friend's abuse: 'I just hurt with her'

For some reason or other this world has been turned upside down of late, which has made us all quite sad and hurt. 

But sometimes even through the toughest of times, there are little flickers of hope which restore our faith again. 

And when Rachel Macy Stafford shared a photo online of her daughter and her daughter's best friend, she re-ignited hope for our children's futures. 

Her daughter's best friend was subjected to a racial slur while sitting on the school bus, and Rachel shares the exchange which took place between the two friends in the aftermath. 

Her daughter asking if her friend was OK, her African-American friend not saying anything, Rachel's child scooted closer to her mate, so she could 'hurt with her'. 

The scenario shocked Rachel: "I hurt with her. It took me a moment to recover from that."

"I filed those powerful words away and continued observing this mighty pair."

Rachel has noticed that over the years the girls have been looking out for one another as friends do, from getting hurt on the playground, to needing an honest opinion or a slice of encouragement, the girls are always there for one another, responding 'compassionately' to one anothers needs. 

The young girls already know how they can work through difficulties, and how being a team can help them prosper: "This summer, the pair went to a new basketball camp."

"I saw their initial shock when they realised they were the only two girls. Then I saw them fist bump. They played hard, they cheered each other on, they stayed close."

Thankful that they had one another's backs at camp, openly discussing how thankful they were of each other – and Rachel once again had to stand back and admire these two girls. 

Because they were teaching her something, so simple, but unfortunately not always considered…

"Today, I hope the world will take note too. What if we collectively remember, 'I’ll hurt with you', is something we can all do when we don’t know what to do?" 

"What if we collectively look into the eyes of our brothers and sisters to acknowledge their story and their pain rather than closing our eyes or looking away?" 

Acknowledging the hurt surrounding our world right now, Rachel finds comfort in a photograph sent by her husband at a local football game. 

"This is what I see on the line at a local football game. The goal of this mighty little team is not to win, have the most, or be the best. The goal of this mighty little team is to love…"

"To love each other as they want to be loved. The goal of this team is to have 'our back'. For they know they are stronger together than they are alone." 

And Mum wants us to remember this message, as she too learned something incredible from her daughter and her best friend: "There’s so much on the line. But love can prevail."