The power of words never ceases to amaze me no matter how old I get. It’s true! Our words either speak life or they speak death! Last week God allowed a gentleman’s words to slap me right smack dab in the face. It wasn’t a life-altering experience but it certainly gave me the nugget of hope I needed to propel me through the rest of the week and then some. I can only recall a couple of other times in my life when someones positive words left such a sweet impact on me.
It was just another Monday on the dental front! The phone was ringing. I’d answer it just in time for another, “Rrrrinnng” to breakthrough. I put the first call on hold as I answered the next call. Meanwhile, one of the assistants brought up a patient to be checked out and rescheduled. On the other side of the counter, another patient arrived and needed to be checked in. Organized Chaos! Ha! My co-worker and I attended to the needs of each person and things finally settled down. As it gets quiet, I hear an older gentleman, sitting in the waiting room say, “are you always this pleasant?” Insert the sound of screeching brakes! He stopped me in my tracks! I was dumbfounded. Some little mutated sounds and grunts came from my mouth until I finally managed to wiggle out some words. In hesitation, I said, “uuuum, … I… guess… so…”. He proceeded to go into detail about how he was treated recently at a business by the front desk personnel. He shook his head in discouragement as he explained. I was saddened by what he said and shared how sorry I was he was treated so badly. I said, sir…frankly, I don’t know how else to be.” He said, well, I really appreciate it. As he got up to leave, he once again said, “thank you for being so pleasant.” Wow! How humbling it is to know what seeps out of me naturally is also what fills me right back up. As I was writing this post a specific word came to mind, BOOMERANG! I got to thinking, I need to be careful what I’m throwing out there because whatever it is, will likely return with a uplifting, swift grab or an impaling blow.
May I encourage you to speak life into one another this week. Take time to show kindness and compassion. I searched for a quote or a saying to leave with you and I just so happened upon this beaut by Florence Scovel Shinn. It’s perfect.
Man received only that which he gives. The Game of Life is a game of boomerangs. Man’s thoughts, deeds and words, return to him sooner or later, with astounding accuracy.
Beyond 9 Two 5 