words…

Some time ago, Gracie came home excited to share that she had just been moved to a new table in kindergarten and now sat right next to one of her very best friends.  Her little eyes sparkled as she told me all about it, and I thought to myself, “Oh my, wonder how long till my sweet daughter, lover of many words, will come home with the dreaded discipline number in her folder for once again, ‘talking at inappropriate times?’”  Sigh…

It wasn’t long.  The next day, “it” happened and I could tell by the look on her face the moment I picked her up from school that she wasn’t happy.  When asked about following the rules, she said with all sincerity, “Mom, I know it sounds crazy, but I don’t know what happened.  I was just looking at my friend, then all of a sudden, my mouth started moving, and words just started coming out!”

Ah yes, good reminder for us all.  Can you relate?  Sometimes words just seem to, well – come out.  And maybe often, they’re great words – of encouragement, wisdom, or love.  But other times, if you’re like me, you might find that they are too often spoken quickly, or abruptly, more out of reaction than out of love.  And once those words leave the mouth – they can never returned.

Words do matter.  Use with care.

always.in.need.of.His.grace.to.be.slow.to.speak.