Protect or Prepare?

Well, it happened. The dreaded "N" word reared it's ugly head in my little one's direction. I knew it was coming again. I just didn't expect it so soon. (This was unfortunately not the first time, but it was the first one that was spoken to my face.) I have to admit I was not proud of my response. However, I'm still not sure what my response should have been. At the time, I simply stood there with my mouth hanging open. Later, the anger came, quickly followed by an intense urge to protect my precious little one from such ignorance and hatred. After a few days of thinking through the situation, though, I wonder if protecting is really the best thing I can do for Brayden. I understand the desire to protect since I am pretty sure that it is standard issue for all moms (and dads). However, I have to face the reality that I can't protect Brayden from racism for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, there is an abundance of ignorance and hatred in the world around us. So, as his mom, what do I do? After a lot of thought, I have decided that protection probably isn't the key, preparation is. As his parents, Seth and I have the responsibility to teach Brayden how to handle racism with grace, love, and a confidence in who he is as a child of God. How this is going to happen, I am not yet sure of...especially since the first part of teaching him how to do this will require us to model such a response! I really can't say how I will react when this happens again. At this point, though, I will just have to rest in the peace that I won't have to handle it alone the next time around.