I like words. I like the way words can bring even the most mundane tasks to life. Instead of “I took out the trash”, I prefer “Reluctantly I trudged the sack of refuge to the green bin of disgust”. Finding the correct phrase that brings out the most in what I’m trying to say at the time, is entertainment for me. I run the phrases through my head for hours at a time until they come pouring out like a damn bursting forth and flooding the page.
As children we quickly learn that words have power. Who wasn’t teased on the playground and then asked Mommy why the other kids said such mean things. When strung together the right combination of words can stop in your tracks, change your life in the blink of an eye, and make you wonder how you ever lived without hearing them.
“I’m pregnant!”- Talk about a game changer! Mandy and I were married for five years before we had our first child. The moment those words were said I forgot everything I had done before. Apparently I was a reader of some sort because there are still books around the house that have been collecting dust since 2005. I vaguely remember watching movies the same month they came out at the theater and not two years later on cable. The people at McDonalds didn’t know my name or what kind of car I drove.
“I think I’m going to be sick!”-Nobody ever wants to hear their child say this and definitely not going 85 mph down the interstate in the middle of the night.
The right phrase has the power to inspire people to new reach new heights, believe in the impossible, and give hope to the hopeless.
“I missed you today”- What the person is really saying is “I looked around to see your face and you were nowhere in sight. Are you alright? What can I do to make things better, to get you back here?”
“I’m praying for you.”- It sounds simple of enough, but think of what is really being said, “I’m stopping what I’m doing today and I’m going to talk to God about you. I’m going to put aside my own problems for just a moment so that the creator the of the universe, the Alpha and the Omega, Jehovah Jireh himself knows that all I want is for you be well, be safe, and be at peace!”
Recently I heard the story of someone saying this phrase, I’ll pray for you, to a little girl who had just witnessed a tragic event. The little girl looked up and said “I don’t know how to pray. I’ve never done it before. Can you help me?” Can you image! Can you help me pray? This little girl had no idea how to talk to God. Nobody bothered to show her the joys of a life lived for God, the strength that comes from reading the words of his son Jesus Christ….nobody had ever given her the gift of peace that comes from faith in the Almighty. That mistake was all corrected that day though….thanks to the power of words.
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