You and I

"See I'm all about them words
Over numbers, unencumbered numbered words
Hundreds of pages, pages, pages for words
More words then I had ever heard and I feel so alive" ~Jason Mraz, You and I

This morning's church service was about the power of words. We studied scriptures in Proverbs and learned how words can be the fruit that fills or the knife that cuts deep into our souls.  The bible says "the tongue has the power of life and death".

I am a woman of many words.

I find this revelation odd because growing up, I did very little speaking. I guess I was saving it up for my adult life. Now, most people, once they get me talking, can't get me to shut up.  And God forbid you ever get into an email tussle with me; I can write for pages on end.  When the words are swirling in my head, the spin faster and faster and get louder and louder and all I can do it type as quickly as I can to get them out or they drive me crazy.  I have been known to get up in the middle of the night and write something out.  I have pulled over on the side of the road to type a note into my phone; because the words in my head won't leave me alone if they feel they need to be heard. I am owner of a number of blogs - this one of course, but a couple others that no one reads.  I save those for the things I just have to get out and express without fear of judgment or disappointing people in my life. They are my purging places and I value them greatly.

I have always known the power of words. I try to choose mine wisely, though I don't always succeed.  And in the past couple of weeks I have experienced the full spectrum of what words can do.  I have experienced the joy, I have experienced the heart ache and I have experienced the very real physical pain that words can inflict.  Words have elated me and cut me to the core.  My heart has swelled and shattered.  And through it all, the power of words is what drives me to carry on. 

When we are young and emotionally and hormonally charged, every. word. counts. Every thing that is said holds 1000 times more meaning than the average word.  Every pause, every nuance means so much.  Some people never let that go.  Into adulthood they still believe in the immense power of words and they read more than necessary into everything.  Contrarily, some adults let it all go.  Words mean nothing to them; actions are what count.  I think I am somewhere in the middle, with words still holding more weight. But actions are important for backing up words involving promises or declarations. 

We have to be careful with our words.  We have to hold them and groom them until they are just right and the timing is ideal.  We have to use them to speak the truth or they become useless and invaluable. Sometimes they get away from us and fly out messy, unruly and viscous. And sometimes they slip out of our grasp in a whisper, never to be heard.

My words count. Your words count. They mean something. Words. Have. Power.

I pray I can always find a way to say what needs to be said, in the most powerful, kind, truthful and meaningful way.

Until,
D :)

Proverbs 18:20-21
From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest of his lips he is satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death. And those who love it will eat it's fruit.