"It takes so little to make people happy. Just a touch, If we
know how to give it, just a word fitly spoken, a slight readjustment of some
bolt or pin or bearing in the delicate machinery of a soul." ~Frank
Crane
Ever experienced one of those days when everything seems to go wrong? In fact, even the birds are moping, the cats are constantly brushing at your legs, your hair is completely flat and lifeless, your car won't start, you lost your keys, and there's ten bills waiting to be paid? Before you even get to work, you feel overwhelmed with life and want to run back to bed and stay there forever. You finally get that car started, that hair to resemble order of some sort, and arrive at work completely frazzled and discombobulated. Of course, when you get to work, you realize that it is going to be the busiest day in a long time, and the tears begin to trickle down your cheek. As you go through the motions of greeting people and plastering that fake smile on your face, you wonder what the point is. Why even try, when nothing you do fits the bill? Demands are high, tempers are short, and grace is nonexistant. Just before your last nerve snaps, you begin to serve breakfast to that sweet little Mary Lou. Today, you don't have the energy to give her your best smile, but you do anyway. You scream on the inside, but stop dead in your tracks when you hear her say "Honey, you keep this place going. You have the most beautiful smile in the world!" Wait. What? You must be dreaming, only she's not done. "You are the sweetest thing; I'm so glad you are working today." Duty calls, and you continue working, but suddenly everything has changed! The birds are singing, and the sun that was behind the clouds has come out of hiding. You smile and realize that all is right in your world.
The tongue. Small. Powerful. Deadly. I have always been known as someone who (ahem) likes to talk. Whether I am in the airport, with my sisters, at work, or at the post office, I take great pleasure in a lively conversation. Does this "gift of the gab" come with responsibility? Absolutely yes! In the last several years especially, I've realized the power of words. They are capable of building amazing relationships, breaking the ice, giving someone that boost of confidence after a noteworthy perfomance, and so much more. However, they also have the power to kill. Careless words cut deeply, and are capable of haunting individuals for life. The affirmation a childs seeks is withheld, and he searches for it in all the wrong places, thinking he is no more than a disappointment, a failure. That scandelous story that you passed on about your neighbour? He found out about it, and was deeply hurt, because you never took the time to ask about the facts. The story was completely false, and he no longer trusts you. Gossip and careless words break relationships. We don't have the luxury of speaking our minds. It is our obligation, our gift, to speak words of life into the lives of the people around us. I'm not talking about flattery, trust me. What I speak of is the encouragement the Bible commands us to pass on to others:
"Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." (2 Cor 13:11 NIV)
I struggle with this command some days (like when the cat brushes up against my legs constantly and my hair really is flat and lifeless :), and my human nature wants to be snippy, carnal. When everything does seem to go wrong, I'm short on sleep, and finances are tight, I want to focus on myself and my problems! Know the feeling? Having said that, I am grateful for a God of grace. He holds me accountable to my commitment of "life vs. death" in my speech. He reminds me to love, to extend grace, to kill gossip before it leaves my mouth, and to praise Him. So today, I choose life. Today, I choose to make someone smile. Today, I choose to look for glory moments. All is grace.
