Words…..They Can Make All The
Difference
“freezer –frazer” = refrigerator (Kenton)
“Laster-day” = yesterday (Madison)
“beat-selt” = seatbelt (Johnson)
I found an old journal last week….begun
in 1981 and held together with a rubberband.
I was 19 years old when I put together this small book of words,
quotables, and Bible verses. I remember
cutting out photos from magazines and carefully putting together the cover and
then placing clear tape over the front to protect it. All the while, sitting cross legged on the
floor of my parent’s home on a Sunday afternoon while waiting for clothes to
dry so I could finish packing and head off to college.
In my youthful scrawl I wrote these words:
“Someday, I’ll be a grown woman. But, I’m not in any hurry. I’m having too much fun now.”
Growing up, I spent a lot of time alone….with
music and words and times for creativity which my children don’t seem to have
in their lives. My nearest friend was
two miles down the road and being the second oldest of five and then eight, I
didn’t ask my parents too frequently to take me down the road to play. They were doing well to ferry all of their
children around. So, instead, I read, I
wrote and I listened to my eight track player and then my high-tech cassette
player which I got for my 15th birthday.
I remember well putting Barry Manilow in that well used cassette player, grabbing pen and journal and blanket and sitting on the edge of our family’s pond and just listening, reading and writing. I would sing, “I was raised on country sunshine…green grass beneath my feet…running through fields of daisies…wading through the creek…you love me and its inviting to where love is more exciting, but I was raised on country sunshine..” as I made my way out the back door, down the steps and out to the pond….to find myself.
In the movie, Sabrina, a new employer tells Sabrina, whose father sent her to Paris, France to remove her from an unlikely boyfriend, that she “found herself in Paris….”. She told Sabrina that she spent a lot of time alone, walking the Parisian streets and jotting down nonsense in a journal. And she encouraged Sabrina to do the same…
I think I began the process of “finding
myself” at our “Little Bit o’ Heaven
Hereford Farm” (yes, I think my mother who named our family farm was a bit
of a romantic as well) as I began jotting down my own nonsense in a journal and
reading that of others.
When you are one of that many children, finding time alone is no small feat. You have to pursue it hard as you would digging for gold or hunting down missing socks in the dryer. Fortunately, my mother seemed in-tune with my need for P&Q (peace and quiet) and was generous in allowing me time to myself….I could feel her presence at our kitchen window watching me and likely wishing for a few stolen quiet moments herself.
It was during this season in my life that I grew to love words. Any words. Words from the Bible, poetry books, novels. It was as I sat, toes in water, book in hand that I grew to appreciate how words could take you places you might not otherwise get to go. I traveled very many places through the words penned by others…including my own two parents. I “borrowed” my Mama and Daddy’s love letters written to one another while Daddy was in Viet Nam….something they probably didn’t appreciate at the time…and, all I will say here is “J and S” – wink wink.
I read my favorite Bible stories and books by an author until I had read everything by that author. I read books which challenged my thinking and books which challenged my intellect. I read classics which I confess caused great panic to me because I found most boring and dry. Painfully, I confess, I read romance novels borrowed from Brown’s Grocery Store down the road because we did not have a near-by library and so Maggie, the proprietor, would allow her customers to “share” books and this is what her library consisted of.
I read letters my Daddy had written to his parents, his sister and brother and his Granny and Aunt Velma. I read letters my Mama had written to her parents and Daddy’s parents as she lived in Augsburg, Germany.
I read every single book to be found on
my parent’s bookshelves, including Daddy’s high school year books. I didn’t read all of their Encyclopedias, but
I did read many of them.
Words became my friend very early on in my life and they still are. And, I believe they still have value since the greatest Author took the time to inspire the greatest Book to be put into words.
If you truly want to get to know a person….listen to them. If you want to become intimate with an individual…be quiet around them. If you want to know the heart of your children, sit near them and let them share.
If you want to have a glimpse into the heart of a person….come to know their words. If you want to share a piece of your heart, share your words with others as has been done with us…but the ultimate Best Selling Author.
I love the scripture from John 1 – “the Word became Flesh and made His dwelling among us.” And more so, Deuteronomy 11:18 – “fix these words of mine in your hearts and mind; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home….so that your days and the days of your children shall be many…”
When my children were infants and truthfully, even as they were in utero, I read to them from the Bible and children’s books. We read, ate, slept and breathed in healthy words as best we could. We removed cable from our family’s home and added VHS tapes of Bible men and Veggie Tales. We sincerely tried our best to position our children’s ears for those words Godly and encouraging. It frankly, was one of the best seasons in the life of my family and children. A season of sweet innocence and kind and loving words.
It was a season in which I came to know and fall in love with my children and with the words they used as they made their ways through life.
Words such as:
Pickle nose
Ken twan
Don John
Maddie Bethie
I LUB LU (I love you)
Biscuit = bottom
Brook = broken
Wing = arm
Chickmumps=chipmunks
Dog pood=dog food
Owie = boo boo
Basketti = spaghetti
Jammies = pajamas
Globe = head
Bandageade = bandaid
I know these were words important to us
because we sat down as a family on August 12, 2000 and started a list and thus,
there they are in the back of my 19 year old journal began when I was 19 years
old…full circle in my belief that words have value and meaning and purpose and
evidenced by my children being able to come up with so many cherished ones.
As my children matured, and they had
reason to share their words with others, their sharing with me became less and
less. As they grew to teenage-hood,
sometimes our words became unkind and harsh and unyielding. And, frankly, for a brief season, words at
our home were at times even unGodly and pointless which can happen in times of
pain and strife and sorrow.
And, while today, our family’s vocabulary is not as pristine as I would prefer and as God would ask, we are a gentler, kinder “nation”. We are being challenged by the “word-minder” at our home to ask ourselves as we speak,
“is that really what you meant to say?”
Ian is a man who is word-careful. While fairly verbose in general, especially on things he considers worthy of his passion, he is a word-thinker. He does well to consider the impact of what he is going to say prior to spilling out his words and he is teaching me and my children to do the same.
He tells us, “words are powerful…powerful to build and powerful to destroy”…and we are learning that truth.
He has also helped me to realize that the more I let God’s words speak for me, the less I need to speak myself.
A humble thought.
A serious challenge.
So, while we are still adding words to our family’s vocabulary such as…
Snickle Britches (from Ian to Madison as passed down from his Daddy)
True Gut (100% truth even if it hurts)
Ladder
Meanie Panties/Pants
“Q”
B---head
Some of which I wonder at their educational value, but have found their bonding ability is priceless.
We will continue to grow in our appreciation for the value of words and their ability to grow us…and, prayerfully, we will become more mature as we seek to use our words.
Preferrably, we will spend more time in
THE WORD so that OUR Words are less necessary.
Preferrably, we will learn the value of our words and use them to uplift and not to tear down.
Hopefully, we will use our words to envelop others in kindness, compassion and
Love…for that is the greatest word and it has “made all the difference.”
Blessings,
Lesa
