About a year ago I had one of those days. You know the kind I’m talking about where you wake up without a care in the world, a smile on your face and your day begins to unravel from there. It was my day to hang out with the grand kids so I picked Violet up and decided to drop in on my parents and say hi. Violet loves to play the “marble game” and my dad quickly responded to her request to play with her. He sat on the floor laughing at Violet’s sweet and silly nuances. My mom was having trouble with changing all their automatic deposits to a new account number and asked for my help. I looked at the clock. Just enough time to make a couple calls and get to Ezra’s school to pick him up. I called the Veterans Admin and ran into a snag. Even though I had, months prior, filled out all the paperwork to become a legal voice for my dad, they couldn’t find the paperwork. They said they had to talk with him to get the information. My dad piped up and said today was a good day and he thought he could do it. With no other option I handed him the phone. To verify his identity they wanted information from 70 years ago! What was the exact date you went into the military, what was the exact date you were discharged? What was your id number and the list went on. My dad became confused. I became angry. I hung up the phone but my dads face had dropped. Violet tugged on his hand to play again, but my dad just shook his head and said, “not now”. Where there was once joy and laughter, in its place was sadness. I was angry that they stole that from him. I looked at the clock. Even if I hurried, I would be late to pick up Ezra. Something frowned upon.
I was filled with thoughts of anger and sadness, filled with grief that I had to abruptly leave, and feeling rushed to avoid the lecture I knew I was about to receive for being late. As I rounded the corner, there was an accident at the intersection. Oh great I thought. I had a quick fleeting thought that had I been running on time, I may have been in that accident. But soon I was back to brooding in my head about my upcoming lecture. When I arrived at the school I ran with Violet in my arms, the whole time playing out in my head the exchange I was going to have with said teacher. Let’s just say they were not kind and apologetic. The teacher smiled as I walked up and told Ezra I was here. That’s it. As I pulled out of the parking lot my mind was still unwinding. And that is when Ezra’s little voice came from the back and said, “Grandma, I love you.” And all the weight I was carrying lifted off of me. I actually let out a breath that I hadn’t even known I was holding. My heart melted. It softened. Kind words.
A week after that ordeal, my dad was in the hospital. He pointed to one of the nurses aids and said, “She has not stopped smiling all day. She is the happiest person I have ever seen.” From my vantage point I could see her walking up and down the halls and indeed she had a huge smile on her face. When one of the alarms went off in my dads room, she was the one to come in and turn it off. I told her what my dad had said, and I kid you not that girl smiled even bigger! She went on to tell us her story and before she left she said, “thank you , it means a lot to me that you would notice .” Kind words.
We don’t always give kind words, and we don’t always receive kind words, but the Bible is full of kind words to us. God says, “you are forgiven”, “you are my beloved”, “you are my heir”, “You are beautifully and wonderfully made.” “you are valuable.” Kind words can soften a heart. Kind words can multiply a joyous heart. Kind words can jolt you out of your negative head space, just like they did for this grandma.
Words are so incredibly powerful. If you doubt that your words have power, remember that God SPOKE the whole world into existence, and we are the only creatures on earth who God gave the ability to speak words.. King Solomon, author of most of the book of Proverbs, said this, “ Death and life are in the power of the tongue”. Proverbs 18:21 Words have the potential to produce positive and negative consequences. They have the power to give life through encouragement and honesty, or to crush and kill with anger and lies.
The old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me, is simply not true. Superficial wounds can heal, but often wounds from words tend to cut deeper and stay with us longer, being almost impossible to heal. Words being spoken to us as a child, especially before the age of six, have been proven to stay in our subconscious and direct our decisions and path in life. That is quite a bit of power!
The bible also tells us that words have the power to heal. Proverbs 16:24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul, and healing to the body. Praying for someone, encouraging someone, or building someone up are all kind words. Kind words can be a soothing balm to someone who has a broken heart, is grieving, or dealing with difficult situations.
It is up to each one of us to decide what we will do with this power of our words. Will we wield them as a weapon to kill someones spirit, or will we use them as a soothing balm to touch their heart? I am convicted in my belief that God knows the incredible power the spoken word has, and this is why……
One day we will stand before God and give an account for all the things in our life, and by our own words we will be justified, or we will be condemned. Matthew 12:36-" “I tell you, on the day of judgement people will give an account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” This is a warning that we should measure our words carefully.
Never miss an opportunity to tell someone how much they mean to you. Never wait to tell someone you love them, because you may not get another chance. Too often we underestimate the power of a kind word, an encouraging word, or an honest compliment, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. At the very least it changed the course of this grandma’s day, and showered a little perspective on the things that matter the most.