"Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." James 3:5-6
Ok now, this is not a diatribe on watching what comes out of your mouth or you'll go to hell. That's not how I roll.
This is however a mini-entreaty for you to realize how much power your words have.
That might be one of the biggest lessons I want all of my students to walk away with when they graduate or leave my classroom.
A single word can make or break someone else's day. Have you ever realized that? Think of it from the perspective of the person receiving the word or the sentence. Hasn't one statement from someone else ever made you think that your day just got better, or that it just became worth it to get out of bed that day.
And on the flip side: haven't you had one statement make all of the good in a day just vanish? One sentence that undermines your confidence and makes you focus on all that you did wrong that day, or all that you ever do wrong?
That impact is yours as well. The POWER to make that impact I should say. Every single person you meet in a day whether you see them for five seconds or five hours, you have an opportunity to make an impression on their life.
I experience that every day of my life. And maybe it's because I live in a hyper-sensitive state as a depressed person, but I am constantly impacted by what even the "bit players" in my life have to say to me and about me.
I was lucky enough today to recieve three cards from 3 separate people. My cat, Billy, "sent" me a valentine's day card, AKA my mom used wavy handwriting to pretend she was my cat and sent me a valentine's day card.
The more important cards were from my mom's good friend Kathy and from my Aunt (read: Dad's aunt) Lyla.
I recently recieved a long term sub position at my alma mater Lutheran High School North. It starts in March and will go through the end of the school year, which is fantastic, but I guess after getting my first long term sub position at Avondale, and thinking about the amount of time I have to pass until March, it's hard for me to be excited.
Except when I receive two cards in one day that tell me that LHN is lucky to have me. The impact of that statement twice in a row hit me extra hard for some reason. These people who have watched me grow up, and know (truly know) very little about me have more confidence in me than I do in myself. That just blows my mind.
I will keep those cards, and not just because I keep pretty much all cards I get in the mail, but because I will need that when I reach a rough point at North. Because I will, reach a rough point. It will happen in the first few weeks, in the middle of the whole job, and at the end.
But back to my original point: words make an impact, and change a person's world. IT'S TRUE!
Think back on the statement that had the most impact on your life. You'd be surprised where it came from, if you're honest with yourself about what impacts your life.
I'll share one from my top five: my niece, Taylor. She's five. She says over and over again, "Aunt Amanda, you're my best friend."
That makes my life.
<3
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