"Nobody Would Sign His Yearbook Until . . . " - by Rev. Weldon Bares

The Washington Post carried a story with this headline: “Classmates wouldn’t sign his yearbook, so older students stepped in.”

The story goes in part like this. Cassandra Ridder was crushed when her 12-year-old son Brody came home from school with only a few signatures in his yearbook, including his own. The sixth-grade kid wrote in his own yearbook: “Hope you make some more friends, Brody Ridder.”

His yearbook was signed by only two classmates, and two teachers and himself. His mother said, “It broke my heart.” She pointed out that over the last two years her son had been bullied, and basically had no friends.

He asked his classmates to sign his yearbook, but they all said no. His mother was devastated for her child. So she put a picture of her son’s yearbook note in a private Facebook group for parents at the school.

Several older students at the school saw her post, none of whom had previously known Brody, and they stepped up to show their support.

Several older students got together to visit Brody’s home room class the following day. On the day after the yearbooks were handed out, a swarm of older students filed into Brody’s sixth-grade classroom, to sign his yearbook. When it was all said and done, over 100 kids signed his yearbook.

They didn’t just sign Brody’s yearbook, they also got to know him. Brody said, “It made me feel like I was not alone.”

The story really spoke to my heart. The scripture simply says, “Love is kind.” (I Corinthians 13:4)