Words
Dear Beloved,
I love words. I love finding words from other languages. Words like ukiyo, onism, or duende. (feel free to look those up later!) I love encountering words that are capable of describing something I didn't think could be defined. Did you know that there is a word for when the moonlight reflects off of water? Or how about the word for the way the air smells after it rains? There's a word for that too.
The thing I love most about words is the power that they hold. Words are like a trojan horse, they seem pretty simple. Yet, depending on delivery or purpose, you can unpack a flood of emotions on someone. I mean, go up to somebody and compliment their shoes or hairstyle and they can't help but smile and maybe you’ll get one back. Or we can turn it around and say something snarky as we pass the person who you felt walking too slow not knowing what they could be going through. Proverbs 18:4 reads, “A person's words can be life-giving water; words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook.”
While words themselves carry influence, so does our tone when speaking. For all my pet owners out there, notice how you could yell the nicest things at your pet and they get scared. But, when you use your baby voice to call them smelly and gross they just want to cuddle. Yeah... People are like that too. I could run into a room screaming compliments at my dad and he would ask me what's wrong. If I were to smile and raise my voice a few octaves while telling him something rude he would just laugh at me and tell me to go away. Proverbs 15: 1 says that “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but hard words stir up anger." Your tone matters too!
Sometime last year, I was walking around my school when a random girl came up to me and handed me a note. (Who gives notes these days??) I opened it right there and it said "Please don't think I'm weird... It's just that you're beautiful and you seem like the kind of girl who deserves to hear that." When I looked up she was gone.
I held onto that note for months. It stuck with me that such a simple act of kindness brought me so much joy in that one moment. It was shortly after that when I decided to start doing the same thing she did. I would leave notes on bathroom mirrors, and bookbags. I would stop random people in the hallway and comment on something and watch their face light up. It was almost like my words were contagious. They spread from the girl to me, and from me to the people I would encourage.
Your words don't just affect the people they are spoken to. They also affect the speaker. If you wake up every day and say 10 bitter things, you become bitter. But wake up and say 10 hopeful things, you become hopeful. Proverbs 11:17. "Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel."
Even if I wasn't feeling great that day I'd try to say something nice to a stranger as often as possible, or hype up a friend. Anyone who really knows me knows that I'm always making sure my friends know that they're beautiful. Doing these little things has made a big difference in how I personally feel on the day-to-day. It's motivated me to continue spreading joy and encouraging other people. In a world where so many people feel unheard or unseen, we can be light in countless lives by performing such small deeds. Not to mention that while doing so, you are showing them what it's like to walk with Christ.
How are you using your words? Are you tearing others down and therefore tearing yourself down? There is so much power in our words. Words can be so uplifting. You could make someone's day, empower them, inspire them, and most importantly you would be showing them God's love. And who knows, maybe your simple act of kindness could end up saving a soul. Use your words wisely. They have more of an impact than you think.
“Kind words are like honey— Sweet to the soul and healthy to the body.”
