The cookie and brownies at the counter looked like any other peanut butter cookie and brownie. Even as my eyes took in the scene, the words below took me to those I knew would enjoy them. If it was not for the words, I would have never known they were vegan. As it was, I found myself enjoying memories, sending love, and lifting a prayer on their behalf. Each has a special place in my heart, made richer by the words that took me to their presence.
Words are powerful elements of change. They communicate. They transport. They clarify content and meaning. As important as each is, I find myself looking back with a sense of lost opportunity. I could have chosen and used my words more carefully. I am hopeful as I consider the road ahead that I use the lesson life has gifted me with.
Words take my heart and soul and put them into action. Each expression reveals my truth. While many see it as initially tentative, with a pattern of matching my actions to my expressions, my words take on the form of action. They can nurture and lift. Equally, they can harm, even destroy.
Words are linked to every relationship, human and Divine. Thinking what one believes is not the same as saying and acting on that belief. The first is often wishful. It can be guilt-driven. When expressed, everything changes. Paul reminds me to “Say the welcoming word to God – ‘Jesus is my Master’ – embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not ‘doing’ anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation.” (Romans 10.9)
Words are our opportunity to connect our hearts to others. As I think of expressions of love, of whispers of affection, I find myself transported to a place of hope and belief. With words, one opens a door to lift and carry another into the presence of Divinity. Today is my heart’s expression.
