I said a Kind Word One Day...


 
I said a kind word

One day

And I saw the light

That it brought,

The smile on his face,

The joy in his eyes.

I said a kind word

One day

And it seemed

To change a life,

Give life.

 

I tend to be a joker, a teaser. I love to laugh and I love to make others laugh, I can be really sarcastic and sassy. But when it comes to speaking affirmation, speaking an encouraging word, giving a compliment or saying a kind word to a friend, somehow the words always get stuck in my throat and a joke comes out instead. Or sometimes I can manage a nice word, but then just so the person knows I am not really that nice, I cover it up with a joke or a sassy comment.
But a few weeks ago I gave a genuine encouraging compliment to a friend and was surprised by how much joy that brought my friend not to mention how much joy it brought to myself to see his joy. When I joke with my friends, I don’t really seem to be changing a life, but when I gave that one genuine compliment, I felt that I was really making a difference, really bringing joy to another; not just temporary laughter, but genuine joy.
I think I tend to hide behind a mask of laughter and joking. It’s my own way of preventing people from seeing my genuine heart underneath. And that may not make sense to most people, but somehow I use sarcasm and laughter as a mask. But maybe being really genuine and sincere and encouraging with a friend is more rewarding than all of my jokes.
Of course, I have made all kinds of resolutions in the past for putting away all joking and only speaking true and kind things, but you can ask my friends how that resolution went because it was an utter fail by the very next day. I suppose I may always enjoy teasing and joking with my friends and that doesn’t have to a bad thing (although it can be), but mostly what I want to get better at is actually speaking affirmation to others. I would love to be less sarcastic and sassy, but despite all of that I really want to be better at affirming others because it really can make a difference, it really does change lives, and it really isn’t as scary as it seems. ;)

Comments

  1. You often have good encouraging words to speak. I guess sarcasm and sassy is our default and often not helpful . Thanks for the reminder. I need to be more encouraging myself. Just like any habit we want to form, it takes daily practice.

    A word aptly spoken
    is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
    Prov 25:11

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, I know what you mean! Sometimes I want to say a compliment to someone but it seems hard. Or I want to tell them how meaningful they are to me but it seems awkward or I think they'll take it wrong, etc. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you so much for sharing this, Hannah! I am always love how genuine and encouraging your blog is, and this post was something I needed to be reminded of

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

With it's Heart Against a Thorn

Winnie the Pooh

Favorite Books