Sometimes It Does Not Take Much

In both the Old and New Testaments, the power of our words to bless other people is a recurring theme. I have always loved the verse, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." from Proverbs 25:11. It is but one example of the affect our words can have on other people. Sometimes the most simple words carry eternal weight.

We travelled to Mountain View, CA this weekend to attend a wedding. Jeanne, the bride, is someone Judi had become acquainted with professionally about seven years ago. She had met the groom within the past few months, toward the end of a courtship that went on for nearly a year and a half. Both the bride and groom have adult children from previous marriages. Over the course of the past seven years, the ladies have kept in touch via occasional visits, professional interactions, and online.

A few years ago, Jeanne was telling Judi that her son was at something of a loss as to his direction in life. He felt he had some sort of calling to Christian music and very much enjoyed leading worship, but was unable to distill his vision any further. Judi suggested he might look into the discipleship program at a church near where he lived as a way to distill that vision. He told us at the wedding, he felt God was speaking to him when he first examined the web site of the church, but let let me tell you about the scene as the guests were gathering in preparation for the wedding.

We were near a handsome, young man whom Judi suspected was the bride's son although they had never met. She asked him if he were Jordon. With something of a quizzical expression on his face, he acknowledged he was. She introduced herself. I can only describe his response as shocked silence. It only lasted perhaps ten, awkward seconds before he moved forward and gave her a hug. In the brief, ensuing chat, he thanked her for the recommendation and she, of course, responded with a polite acknowledgement saying she was glad he had benefited from it. He said the experience changed his life. He then introduced us to his fiance and filled in the blanks about where he is and what he is doing. Among those things is that he regularly leads worship for two different groups of people while pursuing some additional education.

Sometimes we do not have to do a whole lot of anything to be a blessing to someone else. Sometimes it does not take much except the right word at the right time. We all know this, but we get too busy with the things of our lives we forget we have the ability in our mouths to change the course of a life, by saying the right thing--or the wrong thing.

It is interesting how the Lord brings people into our lives to test, try, and temper us. As with most people in any sort of ministry, I do not even have to look for such people. Every time I go to work there is a parade of people through my office with some kind of need. Sometimes the needs are easy to dispatch as with a simple answer to a question. Other times it becomes much more difficult due to the nature of interpersonal relationships or because things from the past have their hooks in so deeply there is a lot of unwinding to do before solutions can be applied. Still other times, people are simply not ready to hear good advice that will answer their need. In any of these situations, a word fitly spoken is the right prescription.

I recall a time nearly 23 years ago now. We were in a time of transition and I went to visit a family I had known for a long time. Unbeknown to me, this family had followed a slightly different path than we had after having some ministry together. They had learned the lesson of the power of their words better than we had. I was making a statement of fact about our situation thinking I was only rehearsing events and wondering aloud what the future might hold. The wife held her finger to her lips and cautioned me about speaking negatively. I had no idea I was. Of course, I can now relate this incident because I understand a little more of the principles of the power of our words.

If you know how good apples really are for your health, you can even better appreciate the verse with which we opened this post. Everyone has heard, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." That makes an apple a good prescription for our bodies and a word fitly spoken the proper prescription for our ministry to anyone and everyone we meet. Until we are able to stop saying the wrong things and consistently say the right things we will be continually taking steps backward when we should be going forward.

Speaking of going forward, the Lord is impressing me to begin to walk and pray. I even have the first direction to go. I really do not want to that, but then I really do want to. I hope I do not have to walk too far because I will probably have to walk back. I have known for some time now that "prayer walking" as it is called would be something God would have us do in the Santa Maria valley. It surely cannot hurt and we could use the exercise. Stay tuned, give me call or send me an email if you have any interest in that sort of thing. As I said, I do not. Of course, I am a classic introvert so I envision walking alone anyway. We will see how this all develops. God bless.