The Power of Words

 

Words

 

 

Words can hurt...

 

words can heal...

 

words can move mountains...

 

and words can drive us to our knees.

 

 

 

Recently words were said to me that sunk down deep and caused me pain.  It is true, words have the ability to speak life or death over our lives.  They brought me to tears, but also drove me to my knees (prayer).  

 

I took it to my Father and asked Him how He wanted me to take these words and use them.  

In the past it would have driven me into isolation, to avoid the pain and to put a safe distance between me and the hurler of unkind words.  Times before it drove me into deep sadness and years of battling rejection.  Wondering what was wrong with me.  The devil must have been doing quite the victory dance over the thoughts and reactions, that were caused by my difficulties with friendships.

This time a realization came to me.  The realization was this:  

If know one likes me (which is not truth, but used as an example), it is okay.  Because I like me,and from now until I take my last breath, I have to live with me. God is number one in my life, family is second and everything else falls in line after these two priorities. 

My mama taught me that we should be kind. 

  My Pastor has spoken for years that we should aim to be nice. 

  God says we should not give up gathering together, but should love one another.  

I try to live this way, but boy sometimes it is really hard to love.

 

Challenging? 

 

 Absolutely, even on the best day, but really it is how we should live every day.

So I am taking the words spoken to me and letting them be sifted through my Father's fingers.  I am asking Him to reveal truth to me and to help me learn and grow from this.

As much as I am tempted to curl up into a ball and isolate, I am going to push myself back out and open myself up (versus shutting down shop and putting up the closed sign on my heart!)

I am going to choose to love. 

 I am going to choose to continue being me, and letting my Father shape me into all that He has for me. I am a work in progress. My hope is to progress, not regress or get stuck.

Words come to us and words leave us.  Words stick and words are hard to erase.  Stop and think what you are saying and ask yourself if someone said this to you, would it encourage you or help you?  If not, let's hold back our thoughts and not take the risk of causing hurt to someone.

Yes, speak the truth in love.  But the whole key is LOVE!