The power of words can be extraordinary. Through my teenage years, it was the negative aspect of this statement that I mostly experienced (both on the giving and receiving end). Now that I’m in the trenches of motherhood, and surrounded by equally desperate women, I find myself handing out and receiving the positive power of words.
Thursday was just another day. We walked to our neighborhood park, our daily
cure for the post-nap grouchies. Another
mom on the playground asked if I had been in a particular kids’ music class a
couple of years earlier. When I shared
that I had been in that class, she went on to tell me that I had been an
inspiration to her. She was pregnant
with her second, and feeling overwhelmed at the thought of having two
kids. Seeing me drag my two
one-year-olds and three-year-old to the class, and mostly enjoy it had given
her hope of surviving and even thriving with two kids. I had unknowingly helped her two years ago,
and she chose to give me a booster shot to the soul that day with her
words.
Just a few hours later, I found myself at a moms’ night out
giving what I hope was a booster shot to a mom struggling with a strong-willed child
and questioning her mothering abilities altogether. Showering her with encouraging words of how I
saw her as a strong woman and mother helped to lift her out of the pits of
self-doubt (and the wine didn’t hurt either!)
I love how The Message Bible translates Proverbs 18:21, “Words
kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.” We get to choose how we use our words, and it
brings such joy to experience words that give life. May I remember to bring that joy to my
children, husband, and even the grouchy old man at the gym by choosing the words
that bring life.
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