Words Still Matter

 Words Still Matter

I was in a Walgreen’s Drug Store recently to pick up a prescription and as I turned to leave, I saw a man of 73 years. He was looking at birthday cards for his wife”. I thought to myself, “How sweet is this”, and decided to stay close by and just observe as he made his selection.

He reached up, picked a card, read it, and put it back. He picked another and put it back. He did these three more times, and finally read one card and then headed for the checkout with the card in hand.

I can imagine what happened over the next thirty minutes. He got home, scribbled something of sentiment on the card, or perhaps simply said “Love you” and then gave the card to his wife.

“Love you.” It can be expressed in so many ways. For some, it is a bump on the shoulder. Others place a hand on another’s hand, or shoulder, or cheek and look into their eyes. No words, just this simple touch.

Some are free to express the words, “I Love You,” and they stop at that, but there is so much more to be said.

“Thanks for the biscuits for breakfast this morning. They hit the spot.”

“I appreciate you always having my clothes clean and folded just like I like them.”

“Do you know I stopped a dozen times today and my heart swelled with love as I thought of you.”

“Oh, how you make my life beautiful.”

To a sibling we might say:
“Remember when we were kids, and you always looked out for me? Thank you for that.”

And to best friends:
“We’ve lived a good and long life. You are my best of friends. I am so thankful for how you add to my life.”

Or to a child:
“I’m really proud of you and the man/woman you are becoming.”
“I love my front row seat in watching you. You make me happy.”

Nice sentiment – “Love you”. I said it a thousand times in words and written it on a few cards for various occasions and then given them to Carolyn.

Words come hard for most of us when we think of those close to us. We want to say so much, but often soften the moment by a simple “Love you”.

Those sentiments are good, even great, but a well-placed, well-thought-out word is food for the soul that can be feasted on for days and weeks to come.

I never get far from Maya Angelou’s words when she once said:

I’ve learned that people will forget

what you said, people will forget what you did, 

but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Words live long after they are spoken. Their effect on an individual take on a life of its own, and are played time and again, in secret, just before falling asleep, upon awakening, when things are going right and in times of sadness and hardship.

Words matter!
Let me relate a very personal story.

~~~

During my growing up years, I thought I was loved, but I was never told those magic three words “I Love You”. Dad showed us on occasion that we were loved, yet the words were never spoken. One day, when I was seven, Donny and I were out mowing the front lawn. We were just about finished when Dad pulled into the driveway, rolled down his window and tossed out a brand-new baseball and glove.

Donny and I thought we had won the lottery. Dad didn’t say anything. He simply smiled, backed out of the drive, and went back to work.

I remember another time when I hit two home runs in one game in little league baseball. Dad and Mom treated me to my favorite chocolate shake and a hamburger at The Gizmo. He was so proud of me; he went from table to table bragging on me and my home runs. But no “I Love You.”

When I went to college, I made friends. I began noticing that some of my friends and their families would express the “I Love You” words when together. I began thinking about my own family and how I had never heard them express these words to me and my siblings. Of course, I had never expressed them to my parents either.

During these days I was still directing music for a church that my dad pastored. On an October Sunday, I felt it was time to begin expressing “I Love You” to Mom and Dad.

All afternoon I kept looking for the perfect opportunity to say, “I love you.” Finally, after the PM service, we went

to my parent’s home for a bite to eat. As we were getting ready to leave, as usual, we would gather in a circle, join hands and Dad would pray for us.

I knew after he said “Amen” that it was now or never if I was going to say “I love you” on this night.

As I hugged Dad I simply whispered, in a broken voice “I love you.”

He paused a moment, hugged me a little tighter, then tried to croak out “I lo lo lov cough cough cough.” He just couldn’t say the words, but he tried.

When I hugged Mom, I expressed those same words to her. She simply pulled me even closer. Mom had this funny way of hugging where she would bury my head between her neck and the top of her shoulder. When I said “Mom, I love you,” she just squeezed me tighter and cried. To this day I can still remember the smell of Mom’s perfume mixed with the bath powder that she wore.

We broke the ice that day. We got good at saying “I love you”.

~~~

If you ask me on any given day, “do words matter” I would respond with a resounding YES! They do. I have built my writing career on the power of words, so much so that my company is called Up-Words.

I encourage you to find the words, the phrases, the ideas that need to be expressed in your family and with your close friends. Say the words. Express the sentiments.

Words still matter!

This is my morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration