When Words Strike...

Photo by Harlan Humphrey @ Wild Scenic Nature

They are just letters strung together, but some slither and strike. Words with power to kill a heart, a relationship, a soul.

I almost can't open them, because I have lived a lifetime of ugly written words. It doesn't matter the format or delivery method...the ones wrapped in envelopes, the ones that ping in your purse as the text comes in, or the ones patiently waiting on Facebook in a private message. They coil ready to strike...

You deserved the abuse.

I don't think you should be teaching my kids.

You're the problem.

God is going to hurt you because you won't do what I want.

You are not loved anymore.

I don't want your gift.

That was an awful decision on your part. What were you thinking?

I try hard to push them down, but stuffing them only makes them bite harder and the poison seep deeper. I can't overcome those words written on the paper or the screen. They killed a part of me, and I am not sure I can ever revive what was lost or can I?

My dad has killed a snake or two. Grandpa...grandma...they knew how to confront the scary rattling sound in the grass to avoid the strike. You don't live on the prairies of South Dakota and not know how to overcome a snake. "Always be well-dressed (boots that protect the legs you stand on) and always use something more powerful to kill it (a shovel is an efficient tool)."

How do you destroy those angry, written words? What is more powerful than the words that struck your soul? WORDS

They are just letters strung together, but they help and heal. Words have power to kill the words that killed you.

I was just telling my sister what a wonderful teacher you are.

Your words were exactly what I needed.

I love you.

You are stronger than you think you are.

I am so sorry.

I am here for you.

What you wrote encouraged me. Please don't stop.

or these words, the most powerful of them all...

Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Isaiah 49:15

Do not fear for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1

In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him how loved us. Romans 8:37

Or how about some loud words?!

He will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

They are just letters strung together with all the power in the world.

{A re-post from 2014}