Tongues Afire
Over the past month or so, my wife and I have had some hard conversations. Places of deep hurt have become visible again. As we’ve talked, amid much sadness, I’ve had to reckon with a lasting wound I left on her heart. Years ago, before we were married, Miska and I endured a significant conflict. In that turmoil, I spoke words to her that were foolish and immature, words that lodged into the most tender and vulnerable places of her heart. I didn’t speak in anger or malice, but rather with ignorance and stupidity. I’ve asked her forgiveness multiple times, and she has freely forgiven me. Still . . . the wound is there. My words can’t be taken back.
small spark
In 2004, a man went over a dry, brown patch of grass while mowing his lawn. A blade on the mower struck a rock and created a spark, which resulted in a fire that soon raged out of control. The resulting catastrophe, known as the Bear Fire, blackened 10,484 acres of land and destroyed more than 80 homes. To put out the blaze required the efforts of 33 fire crews and 42 fire engines.
Speaking Well
In May 2014, 8-year-old Abby Porter was in a car being driven by her mother when her mom suffered a medical emergency. Abby immediately grabbed the wheel and was able to control the vehicle until a police officer helped stop the car safely. After the event, the officer related how he told Abby to put the vehicle in PARK, to which she responded, “I don’t know how!”
you’re beautiful
Ashley Munroe penned the message “You’re beautiful” on nearly 2,000 notes and then placed one on each locker in her high school. Via surveillance cameras, school authorities saw Ashley distributing the notes. The principal assumed she was causing trouble and suspended her. Several hundred students, however, signed a petition to help Ashley avoid punishment. Perhaps her best reward was hearing from a girl who had planned to commit suicide that day but did not because of Ashley’s message.
not idle words
With an estimated 6 billion copies sold, the Bible is the world’s best-selling book. The average American owns three or four copies of the Bible. In a 2012 survey, however, 18 percent of churchgoers revealed that they rarely or never read the Bible, and 22 percent said they did so just once a month. Only 19 percent said they read the Bible every day. Lamar Vest, President of the American Bible Society, said: “There are probably five Bibles on every shelf in American homes. Americans buy the Bibles . . . they just don’t read [them].”
clear communication
Many battles in life stem from false assumptions that are made due to lack of communication. For instance, we share a wall with our neighbors and—since moving in 6 months ago—they’ve been redecorating. The garden, the garage, the bathrooms, the bedrooms; nothing has escaped a hammer, an electric power tool, or a paintbrush.
storytellers
Every two years in Wales, hundreds of people gather for an international story festival called Beyond the Border. The festival is an effort to celebrate the world’s rich heritage of oral tradition.
you are what you say
It’s true that “you are what you eat.” I have a favorite sugary cereal that I sometimes snack on, even though I know that half an hour later I’m going to crash. Diet is important, because—thanks to the miracle of metabolism—our food literally becomes a part of us. I might be 20-percent milk and hydrogenated corn syrup!
steps to nowhere
Serving with a group of students, I was picking up trash from the grounds of a home when I found a set of three sturdy brick steps. An ordinary set of stairs in every way, but they led nowhere. Climbing to the top simply led to the plank siding of the old, worn house.
words disperse
In the movie Doubt, a preacher told of a woman who confessed her sin of gossip to her priest. The man told her to first go home, take a pillow up onto her roof, cut it open, and then return. She did as instructed. Then the priest asked her what she saw. “Feathers everywhere, Father.” He said, “Now I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out onto the wind.” She protested, “It can’t be done. I don’t know where they went. The wind took them all over.” “And that,” replied the priest, “is gossip!”
truth in love
Have you said something to someone that you later regretted? Perhaps you needed to speak hard words, and the person needed to hear them, but you feel bad because of the way you communicated your message. So you’re saddened that you failed to “speak the truth in love.” But what does that really mean? Is it about honesty? Is it about sweetening the cold, hard truth to make it more palatable?
