Time
Time… just keeps going. Moments come… and invariably go.
You want to hold onto them – but all you’re able to keep in your grasp is a faint whisp of a memory. And even that mysteriously disappears after… a time.
All you can hold onto is the moment in which you are right now.
That’s all you have. That’s all you’ll ever have. …Makes time more valuable.
You can’t hoard it. You can’t store it… but you can prevent it from slipping away.
Words.
“Wow, that’s awesome!”
“Great job!”
“That’s incredible!”
“So cool.”
“You’re fantastic!”
^ Sound familiar? ^
These are phrases we hear all the time. We hear them used to express people’s feelings about nearly everything. ”It’s such a cool movie.” ”That was a fantastic shot!” ”Did you see that move? That was so cool!” In fact, we hear them so often that even when spoken in sincerity, the words become cliche. They seem to lose their meaning.
We even use these for fillers. When we find ourselves conversing with unfamiliar individuals, we tend to say “cool” “awesome” and “sweet” under our breath… a lot. We say these things in order to let the person know that we’re listening. Which is polite, I suppose.
But do we really mean it? Is the fact that we’re having spaghetti tonight genuinely “awesome“? Are you really awed upon learning what you’re having for dinner?
I’d like to submit that many of us are responsible for hurting souls because of our own lack of a meaningful vocabulary. Why should Grace believe that you actually think she’s “incredible,” when you use that same word at least 7 times a day? Why should Blake believe that you appreciate his hard work when you say “nice job!” to everyone – even people who didn’t do as well as he?
You wonder why Samantha’s countenance falls when you compliment Mercy. Didn’t you just speak encouraging words to Samantha, too? Well, did you use the same words or expression? Words lose meaning and significance to an individual when they are distributed too liberally.
When Katie hears phrases overused, she begins to believe that no one means what they say. So any truth people may speak to her concerning her beautiful nature falls short. She doesn’t believe them. She doesn’t believe anything but the negative words. Interesting, how quickly someone believes the negative rather than the positive. Maybe because people aren’t as quick to express the negative… so those words aren’t cliche. Therefore, they’re taken for truthful expressions of people’s beliefs.
See how that works? There’s a word-epidemic.
Words people don’t believe even when they’re true: beautiful, slim, strong, sweet, cool, popular, loved, admired, liked, talented.
Words people do believe even if they’re not true: ugly, fat, weak, stupid, unloved, hated, slow, unappreciated.
So now Katie only believes the negative words he’s heard about herself… and the ones she’s heard in her own head.
As a side note, I think that the internet has had a lot to do with this word-epidemic.
idk, but if ya think ’bout it, vocab isn’t vry importnt online ’cause u dont have to wry bout speling or punctuashun cos every1 can read abbreviations. oh, & we like speed, so we don’t use very big words to tell what we want to say.
Say what you mean, mean what you say.
Use your language with grace and skill.
And care enough about people around you to actually change.
Trust.
I just wrote a long post on trust. But I can’t share everything I’d like with as much ethos as I have without dishonoring people who stand redeemed & forgiven before God and man. So I’ll just say this:
Chose to trust.
Don’t hold onto hurt under the guise of protecting yourself.
People become what others expect them to become. If you choose to never again forgive and/or trust the one who has betrayed you, you’re dooming them to repeat history. (Forgiveness and trust are two different things that don’t always have to go hand in hand.)
I don’t know who Walter Anderson is/was, but I saw this quotation ascribed to him, and I love it: “We’re never so vulnerable than when we trust someone – but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy.”
I’ve found that my life is so much better when I chose to be vulnerable and trust rather than hoard hurt and pain. Yes, trust has to be earned. And it takes time to rebuild trust. But don’t prolong that time. Don’t stubbornly refuse to trust just because you like the feeling of martyrdom.
To trust is to make a sacrifice. Sacrificing your own comfort (not safety), in order to help the other person become a better person.
“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another… Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not… Recompense no man evil for evil… If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord… Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.” ~Romans 12:10-21
Vanity of Vanities
I recently read through Ecclesiastes again. I’ve always liked Ecclesiastes. I sometimes get into moods where I wonder what the ultimate purpose of life really is. And I’m a Christian – I have Christ. He’s the giver of all purpose and He is the purpose of my life. I get up every morning thinking about how I can serve Him, and when He accomplishes something through me, it’s grand. I mean, my actions, when done in His strength, become part of history – part of His story. What’s better than that?
But then the haunting question comes back – “but what’s the purpose of anyone’s existence?” In all of history, what’s the point of anyone actually doing anything? Good things happen to everyone, regardless of their lifestyle. Evil things happen to each individual and community, no matter how pure. What’s the point of being righteous when evil is going to plague your life anyway?
I realize these are dangerous questions if not asked in the right spirit. But I hear Solomon, the wisest man to ever walk on the earth, asking the same questions in Ecclesiastes. He spends an entire book asking why these things are so, and stating that all we can do is to accept the good gifts God has given and depend on Him when we experience evil.
But I love the way he concludes the book. So plain. So straight forward. So… all-encompassing.
12:13-14
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear* God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
{{*the word “fear” includes the idea of “trust”}}
It’s funny how Solomon spends so much time expressing how evil people are and how they don’t seem to “pay for it.” Then at the end of the book, he tells us to mind ourselves – our own hearts and actions. He does say that God will bring justice for every little thing, but not in the context of vindication; rather in the context of self-evaluation and personal responsibility.
These verses also include the idea that we should not continually strive for answers to the vanity of life. He simply states that it’s our duty to act on the truth we do understand.
God is just and sovereign. Ecclesiastes 12:14; Psalm 46:11
He is loving and compassionate. 1 Peter 5:7, John 11, Isaiah 53:4
He is good and merciful. Psalm 37:39-40
He is strong when we are weak. 2 Corinthians 12:9
He is personal and cares deeply about each individual on the planet. John 3:16; 17:20
Think
As some of you may know, I definitely lost my voice last weekend. We had gotten to the end of a very long week of a very difficult and complicated play, and I used up every last bit of my voice. It completely abandoned me on Saturday morning. I woke up to find it had gone on an unexpected, but much needed vacation. Apparently it was an extended vacation because it didn’t feel the need to return until late Monday morning. (as a side, I think it’s pretty fantastic how God let my voice last just barely long enough for one seminar and gave it back just barely in time for the next. 
)
…It was kind of odd shaking people’s hands in church, not being able to answer any of the multitude of questions, and not even able to communicate that I had no voice. Though by the end of the day I had become a very good mime and my friends became very good at mind reading.
When my voice returned (well, unfortunately I still sound like Miley Cyrus sometimes, so I can’t really say that it’s back completely) I was enthused because I could finally make all the witty comments my overactive brain formulates in the span of a minute.
It was great.
Except then my brain started listening to the words that came out of my mouth more than before… maybe ’cause the sound of my voice was a new thing again. But I realized the power of my words. I realized how few words have actual purpose, how many are wasted, how many are not thought through.
On Saturday and Sunday I would tend to forget that I couldn’t speak until I opened my mouth and no sound came out. When that happened I’d usually try to play charades ’till someone got it.
Now I’m trying to keep my mouth shut. It’s harder when talking is actually an option.
How many of your words are worth saying?
…Behold, we put bits in horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body… even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature: and it is set on fire of Hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed and hath been tamed of mankind: but the tongue no man can tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison… James 3:3, 5-8
