A Gift of Words

“If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we

should cast the gift of a loving thought into

the heart of a friend…that would be giving as

the angels give.”

~George MacDonald

When I think about good things left unsaid, I think about a friend who passed away after her short battle with cancer. It wasn't until after she died that I realized there were a few things I wished I had told her. She was not a close friend in the sense that we talked all the time or even saw each other often (other than Sundays), but when she passed, my heart wished I had told her how much I appreciated her being my first new friend at church and how welcomed she had made me feel from the instant she first included me in her conversation with a few other ladies. It seemed like a small thing to say, why hadn't I taken the time to say it? One of the legacies that Carol left me and that continues on today is that I feel soul-convicted, whenever possible, to not let good words go unsaid. Because of her, I make more of an effort not to let those good thoughts stockpile inside of me where they lay undelivered.

Words can become gifts to ears that yearn for kind and sincere sentiments:

Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus. ~1 Peter 4:10-11

In God's economy, there is no shortage in the supply of good words to pass around - be generous with the people you encounter today - if you have good thoughts for them, why not turn them into "bon mots"?

"If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person."~Fred Rogers