When Kelley Markland reached into her mailbox, the last thing she could’ve possibly imagined to find was a nasty letter from a complete and total stranger. And the last thing she could’ve known was that by posting a response to this nasty letter on Facebook, her story would go insanely viral and she’d wind up having this very personal story play out very publicly.
The letter mocked her for wearing leggings, of all things. It said she was too big to wear them. It was horrible.
She was hurt. Who wouldn’t be? But she decided to take this and make something positive out of it. And boy, has she ever. Her message of empowerment and more importantly, faith in God, has been inspiring to say the least.
Faithwire’s Kirsten Haglund recently caught up with Kelley to see how she’s been doing since the whirlwind media tour that followed the viral post.
Markland says she feels like God “chose her” to go through this trial in order to strengthen her own faith, and also embolden the faith of others. She added that she is “praying for the person who wrote that letter” because they “obviously have something going on” in their life as well.
It’s a great example of listening to God’s call and also of how God can use every terrible situation for the greater good.
You can listen to that entire interview HERE.
Here’s her original post:
There’s so much wrong happening in that letter, it’s hard to know where to start. Maybe someone can send this anonymous coward this clip from Bambi:
The letter certainly wounded and angered Kelley, especially because her children had to see her in pain.
“They got a first-hand account of seeing how I felt. It’s one thing to talk about bullying, but when you see the after-effects of it actually happening, that’s a real-life image and a real-life picture for them to see.”
But she’s decided to turn things around on the nameless bully. Instead of hating the person who wrote the letter, she’s thanking them and using it for a greater purpose: empowering people and showing them what grace looks like.
She’s continued to wear leggings, and proudly posts them on Facebook.
Kelley also shares how her faith in God has helped her navigate this “crappy situation” and create a teaching experience for her children and others around the world.
Check out the inspiring interview on Faithwire’s The Sonder Podcast HERE.