Kitchen Chalkboard

Words are powerful.

That is nothing new. 

Yet for those who have never experienced the jab to the heart that some words give, the power is unrealized.

From the day when I was a child and someone said I was fat, to this day in my adulthood, I have remembered those words and how they made me feel.

That I was therefore worth less than everyone else.
That, because of that label, I was hindered from knowing I was beautiful and valuable.

That I was not good enough to be noticed and loved.

And the worst of all ~

That their opinion was true.

Other times there have been words that have sucked the life out of me.
Words of negativity ~ from myself sometimes as well as from other people.

Words of untruths.

Words of malice.

Then there are the sweet times of encouragement.

Words that tell me I am important.

Words that tell me I have something to offer.

That I am okay. 

In the past week, I've had two comments that made me feel ~ good.

They were extremely simple things.

And those simple words make a huge difference sometimes.

I have a chalkboard in my kitchen. I fill it with words, so that when someone walks past it, and glances at it, there is a message for their heart.

Sometimes a simple message.

Sometimes one word.

But always hope.

At least that's my goal.

My daughter wrote a note on the board today.

A quote she read somewhere.

It is a message that speaks truth, and shows the power that words can have.

What a great quote.

"In every encounter we either give life or we drain it; there is no neutral exchange."

~ Brennan Manning ~