“Every word matters. Speak kindly”

Have you ever been hurt by a friends words? Someone says something in the heat of the moment, the moment passes, but the words stick with you? That's happening to me right now and the words keep playing back over and over again in my head.

Each word you speak has power behind it- the power to build up, or the power to tear down. So how do you choose to spend your words?

Every single person has, at some point in life, opened their mouth to say something, and then immediately regretted it. Whether it be harsh gossip, a bad joke, a pointless story, a TMI moment, or whatever, it’s happened to everyone. The thing with words is that they can never be unheard, and you may not even recognize their power.
 Let’s take the first part of that. Words can never be unheard. Once you say something, you can try to retract, you can apologize, or you can try to explain yourself, but the words that you said can never be taken back. When I was a camp counselor I explained this concept to my campers by using a toothpaste analogy. I walked around and let each child squeeze a dot of toothpaste onto their fingers. Then I passed around the tube and asked them to try to put the toothpaste back in the tube. I could see them becoming frustrated when they couldn’t get it back in. I then explained that their words were very much like this toothpaste. Once it was out, it could never go back to where it came from. Sure, they could wipe it off or wash their hands, but the damage was done and the toothpaste was out. This is why it is so important to be careful with what we say.
The second part is this: Words can be more powerful than you know. Again, it’s happened to all of us. Someone says something to you that seems unimportant at the time, but you find yourself replaying their words days, weeks, months, and even years later. There are things that were said to me back in elementary school that I still remember and carry with me. So although it may just seem like a silly comment to you, remember that your words carry weight and can mean more to a person than you know.

Which is why it’s good to remember that our words can be used to both build a person up, or tear a person down. The choice really is yours.

Remember: “Each word or thought of yours can be like a pearl that you drop into the secret place of another heart, and in some hour of need, the recipient finds the treasure and realizes for the first time its value.”

                                                                                        *photo credit*