speak light

Tuesday, September 11

"words that do not give the light of christ increase the darkness" 
-mother teresa

words carry weight
that can batter and wound
and equally
refresh and encourage. 

words are not to be taken lightly,
ever. 
i sometimes forget that, and it has cost me. 

some of us have been hurt beyond measure by words. 
long ago I went through a season,
where I was repeatedly hurt by words from a friend. 
gossip, blatant put-downs, humiliation in front of others. 

in that time, my soul of freedom morphed into a sopping mess that quickly put up it's defenses. 
i went from a carefree school girl into a prison of self-consciousness. 
because these words from this friend were personal (often times personal attacks),
 i became conditioned to think that all who teased me were truly making personal attacks on my character. 

and so i began to live out of my wounds
scared that almost anything I said would be wrong, worried that I was somehow offending someone by some action, and all sorts of other small nuances.
my poor spirit analyzing every move I made in hopes that I didn't offend anyone. 

and the wounded often wound. 
for i am no better than this friend, as I too have hurt people by my unkind words.  
out of my own hurt came words that did not bring light, and did not encourage. 
often times I didn't mean for them to hurt, but i'm realizing that we must be so careful with what we utter.
will it bring life?

and in this last season, the Lord has mercifully and most poignantly
pointed out the tandem power of words and grace

grace for others when they have wounded us.
grace that will hopefully stop us from saying anything in our pain that would hurt the other. 
grace that allows us to forgive and step out of the festering pain of our wounds. 
and grace for ourselves when we mess up and bring darkness with our words. 

because grace covers all. 

romans 14:19 says 
"let us therefore make every effort to do what lead to peace and to mutual edification" 

words that bring darkness do not lead to peace or edification. 
ever. 
remember that. 

so may we be people who only utter the LIGHT OF CHRIST
may we be realists, who despite living with pain, recognize the absolute need for kindness even in truth.

because words of LIGHT bring life.
they are fountains of water to refresh,
ushering JOY anew.

so may our words be filled with peace and edification,
always. 

speak LIGHT today dearest friends, 
love katie 

17 comments :

  1. what a great reminder! growing up I was always SO sensitive and would get hurt easily by words. I still do now but not the same. (And I LOVE that last pic of you two!!!!)

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  2. Beautiful, Katie! I love the reminder for us to always try and be a light in this dark world, and to forgive and show kindness even when it's tough. People will truly see the light of Jesus in us if we act this way!

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  3. Good words to live by! Your pictures look so happy, they make me smile. :)

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  4. Love this beautiful reminder of the weight of our words! One of my favorite verses about our words comes from Proverbs 16:24 - "Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

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  5. beautiful post Katie! As always!!

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  6. Encouraging and convicting in the perfect balance Katie =D

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  7. This is an amazing post & such a great reminder. You are so so right! Thanks for sharing your heart. It has challenged me! XO

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  8. What an encouraging post. I'm in the same boat as you and I have to be very careful about what I say. I love what you said about grace...it's easy to forget. Blessings sweet friend!

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  9. Go on, girl, make some light :)

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  10. amen, Katie! it's so easy to throw words around, but we never know the impact our words may have, for better or for worse. I love this post!

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  11. I wish there was a "like" button for moments like this, because that is amazing!!! I love it. Great post.
    +Victoria+

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  12. So beautiful my dear. Words are so powerful and how we choose to use them can build up or tear down so many people. Love the pictures too...you 2 are adorable!

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  13. Isn't it strange how things spoken about us (or to us) by peers so long ago can still cause such a reaction? I can relate to this so much - especially the fear of wounding others...to the point of hiding my true self. I love you and am so glad God is restoring you Katie! You are definitely a light-giver. Love you friend!

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  14. Such a great reminder! We have all been on both ends of words that do not bring life. And from what I've read so far, you definitely speak words that bring life!!

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  15. This is so beautiful Katie! Thank you for the reminder!!

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  16. i think we have all been on both sides of that! both sides feel awful. i know better than to speak meanly and just sometimes i do. thanks for the reminder about all of the different kinds of grace.

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