Scared of Words

I used to be scared of my words. I used to hide behind letters sent to others, behind blog posts where I poured out my heart, or I would just keep my thoughts to myself because I was afraid of what my words could do.

In the past, words have had a great influence in my life. Words have hurt me. Words have healed me. Words have cut deep. Words have uplifted me. Words have left scars.

Recently I’ve realized that I have hidden behind the words that I speak. In high school, I used to be so afraid of speaking words to someone in person that I would just hide behind writing them a letter. Still today, I sometimes do that.

Sometimes I feel awkward and weird telling people that I love them. It’s fine when I say, “love you!” but something with the “I” really trips me up. I don’t know if it’s because it makes it so much more personal, or it makes me feel vulnerable, but I think that I’m afraid of “I.”

For me, it’s easier to say, “you are loved, you are beautiful,” compared to “I love you and I think you’re beautiful.”

Words are strange and complex and intricate and they hold a lot of weight. I’ve always wanted to be that person who is wise and whose words hold a lot of meaning. I’ve always wanted to be the person who doesn’t talk a lot, but when they do talk, those words are wise and important.

Words are important to me. The words that come out of your mouth can be caring and intentional, or they can be fleeting and surface level. The words you say can be full of life or they can be dry and empty.

What words do you speak?

I strive to be the person who is sure of their words. I’ve not always been so sure of my words in the past, and I think that’s a goal for me in the future. I want to be sure of my words. I want my words to be full of life, truth, and wisdom.

There are so many things in this life that are fleeting and dry. The things of this world are so draining and void. Why would I want my words, something that can be so powerful and impactful, to be exhausting and depleting?

I am a strong advocate that words can change lives. I do believe that actions can speak louder than words, but I think that words preface and show who a person truly is. If you say you will try, and your actions don’t follow through, what does that mean about your words? I think that it means that you don’t value your words, that you don’t hold worth in those precious words.

How blessed are we, that we can speak freely, that we have the freedom to share our thoughts and our feelings? Sometimes the free things in this world come at a cost. That freedom that we have, even in our words, comes from the cross. Jesus paid it all and all to Him we owe. He took away the chains from us so that we could be free in Him.

Truly, words are incredible. Just take a look at John 1:1. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.” That should be proof enough that words are incredibly powerful!

Imagine this. You just arrived to an event- a birthday, a party, a conference, or something like that. You see the food. Oh yes, the food, and guess what. It’s all of the food you could possibly imagine. Cookies, cake, sweet treats, and then there are the healthy foods- broccoli (YUM!), Brussel sprouts, grilled chicken, sweet potatoes, etc. You can choose to have the foods that are “bad for you,” but you know that you will have a tummy ache, the sweets, the cake, the breakup cookies. OR you could choose the foods that fill you up and make you feel good inside- the broccoli, the brown rice, the grilled chicken.

The foods that are bad are tempting, but the foods that are good promise life and health. What do you choose?

I think that choosing our words is similar to this. They can either fill us up, or they can leave us empty and upset. What words do you choose? Do you choose to have the nutritious words or do you choose to use the words that will leave you empty in 30 minutes?

If you think about it, and if you really try, words and speaking are one of the hardest things to control and monitor, if you ask me (besides the mind… That’s a complex thing all by itself). Words can tear someone down, or they can lift someone up. In the same sense, words have to be truthful and full of life if they are to hold any meaning.

Words have such potential. They have potential to do good and they have potential to do harm. It’s all up to you to decide what effect your words have.

Words have always been important to me, and words have always held a high value in my life. There’s more to words than just speech and communication. Words hold meaning. Words hold life.

What words do you speak? Which words do you choose?