Words are powerful.
Tonight my sister handed off a bunch of bags from home - old shoes, scarves, and papers from my old room at home (my parents are probably converting my old beloved bedroom into an exercise room or something). I spent almost an hour sifting through some of my old belongings and traveling down memory lane.
It is so hard for me to throw away things...but mostly, it is hard for me to throw away letters. I was reading old letters that I had kept from the past 5 years and even now, I don't want to part with some of them. Words are powerful.
Here's a letter from one of my 1st graders in China:
(Front)
From: JiYong
To: Mis Sarah(Inside)
I am sory
I miss you
Thanks you
I Love you
I'm JiYong
You is my Best Teacher
I like you
--- The best part is that she is currently in 5th grade at the same school in China, we are Facebook buddies, and she still emails me from time to time, asking when I am coming back to China. This kind of stuff makes me want to keep teaching forever.
*****
Ironic: This was scrawled on the envelope of my college roommate's birthday card to me, written at least 4 years ago:
SLee...P
[You know that if you met a guy with the last name that starts with a 'P,' married him, used your first and last initials + maiden name....SLeeP.]
Little did we know.... I bet God was chuckling to Himself right about then...
*****
As I was re-reading and opening up these letters and cards from my time in China, I couldn't help but notice that a great deal of them were from my accountability partner and close friend, J. Some of them were long notes with Scripture references about a particular struggle I was going through, and some were quick cards scribbled down to tell me something she noticed or appreciated about me that day...but all of them were meant to encourage - and encourage they did, even on this October night some five years later. What a gift that is...the gift of encouragement. J always inspired me to utilize this gift even more by leading through her example...and again, I am feeling the conviction and the call to encourage. Words, after all, are powerful.
*****
Lastly, I found a tiny little Post-it with a birthday message from one of my Russian friends in China. At the end of her quick birthday greeting was one of the nicest things I've ever heard:
P.S. When I see your smile, I know that God loves me....Always smile. Always be happy!!!How could I not smile after reading this?
*****
Maybe some day I will be able to "clear the clutter" in my house and throw away these little notes. But today they are precious tidbits and reminders that words are powerful. They can build up and they can beat down. The words we speak are powerful and are, at times, indelibly imprinted on the heart. And the words we write sometimes are kept and remembered forever.
