The facts confirm what many people say about too much social media and screen time negatively affecting psychological and emotional health. Stacey Philpot, a mother and blogger who suffers from debilitating chronic health illness, felt like her online world had become too toxic, so she decided to unplug and detoxify.
The fuss was about a young man with a shirt emblazoned, patriotically, with an American flag and a cross, who was standing alone at a flag pole, praying during an annual gathering-of-students event. When this young man showed up, however, no one else did.
The image of that boy praying alone was lauded by many. When Philpot heard about it, she didn’t think it was worth getting back online for, yet her friends were insistent, and she soon learned why. It was her son!
“As I scrolled through the pictures, it hit me—the boy who stood alone at the pole was my boy,” she said.
It was initially a shock for the mom, who was unaccustomed to such patriotism coming from her son. “The toddler who loved Elmo and couldn’t go to sleep without holding his Veggie Tales characters in his hands had captured the attention of our community by standing alone, by doing everything we’d ever taught him, everything we’d ever hoped he would do,” she shared.
Her son had decided to attend the event “See You at the Flag Pole” which is intended as an an expression of First Amendment rights, including freedom of religion, for Christian students who meet early in the morning before school starts. In order to comply with federal laws, the events must be student-initiated and led, rather than organized by pastors or parents.
In the case of Lake Minneola High, Stacey Philpot’s son never thought he would be the only one. “My son says at first, he thought he would simply pray until someone else came along,” Philpot wrote in her post. “Eventually, he realized no one else was coming.” She imagined how difficult it must have been for him to stand there completely exposed, with cars passing by and students walking by.
“He asked that God would do something with his standing alone,” Philpot added.
It was the comments on the thread that really stood out, though, from people, religious or not, from some who knew her son, and from those who had never met him. “I don’t know who he was, but his Momma and Daddy should be proud. That takes courage. He’s obviously a young man of great character,” one comment read.
Philpot, who spends much time in doctors’ offices, in bed, or in the hospital, says that she has precious little time to offer her children and husband although she longs to offer more. Hearing praise for her parenting felt almost unreal. It provided some comfort that she and her husband Ryan had been doing something right.
When she told her son that he had received dozens of compliments from people who had never met him, he was just as shocked.
“You should know that people in our community are going crazy about a young man who stood at a flagpole alone and prayed this morning,” she told him. “They are talking about what an amazing young man he must be.”
Her son was elated that his small gesture had reached so many people. For this proud mom, the message was clear: staying with something you believe in even when things look hopeless is always the right thing to do.
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