Words that Make a Difference
Today I received a delightful gift: a book! What better gift for a writer than a book! This book arrived from my editor at Focus on the Family and is titled Words that make a Difference and How to Use them in a Masterful Way. What a lovely thought! And it arrived with a handwritten note, which also contained personalized words that made a difference.
But it got me thinking about how our words can and do make a difference. For better or for worse. Whether we are speaking or writing, our words carry power. Power to heal or power to hurt. I have been trying to be much less reactive and much more intentional in the words I choose, especially when speaking. You can't pull those words back in once they're spoken. At least sometimes we have that option with written words (which is why it is such a great idea to let a rough draft sit for awhile before going back to edit and tweak it).
I tried to encourage a friend today. It was hard to find the right words. Her daughter (10th grade) was caught drinking in school. Another kid had brought alcohol to school and four of them got caught. She was suspended for ten days, and already has a ding against her for simply walking out of school one day. What are the right words in that situation? One more strike and there is talk of taking her out of her family and placing her elsewhere. Unfortunately I know first hand what that is like.
How do you find the right words when they are hard to find?
But it got me thinking about how our words can and do make a difference. For better or for worse. Whether we are speaking or writing, our words carry power. Power to heal or power to hurt. I have been trying to be much less reactive and much more intentional in the words I choose, especially when speaking. You can't pull those words back in once they're spoken. At least sometimes we have that option with written words (which is why it is such a great idea to let a rough draft sit for awhile before going back to edit and tweak it).
I tried to encourage a friend today. It was hard to find the right words. Her daughter (10th grade) was caught drinking in school. Another kid had brought alcohol to school and four of them got caught. She was suspended for ten days, and already has a ding against her for simply walking out of school one day. What are the right words in that situation? One more strike and there is talk of taking her out of her family and placing her elsewhere. Unfortunately I know first hand what that is like.
How do you find the right words when they are hard to find?
Labels: encouraging words, words
posted by www.kathypride.com at
10:21 PM
1 Comments:
I was sad at church on Sunday (cursed fickle emotions!) and so I was planning to sit in the back against the wall. A friend of mine, picking out a seat in the front, mouthed "How are you?" I shrugged back at her. She came over to me and asked, so I told her the latest on my brother (which varies daily!!) and she said she would pray with me. Inside, I was thinking, "Oh please don't. I'm barely holding it together as it is." But then she said, "You know what, I'll just come sit by you." And she went and got her things and came and sat by me.
Sometimes, it's not the words, but the presence, the understanding, the wordless groan. Sometimes, in grief, it's just walking silently side by side that helps the most.
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