Weighty WORDS

"I hate you!  I wish I had never been born!"
                  "You just don't UNDERSTAND!"
                  "You're going out dressed like THAT!"

Why do negative words hurt so much?
Insensitive criticisms stab and rip at our hearts leaving us bleeding and wounded for years.

In the mother/daughter relationship, the responsibility rests with the mother to model considerate and honoring speech.  Oh, sometimes I wish I could abdicate my role as "role model" and just speak my heart about my feelings...unfortunately there have been times when I've acted more like a child than the mother.

That's when I'm reminded of the power of forgiveness (when I need it so much!).

We all mess up by saying things we wish we hadn't!  And the challenge to control our tongues is so important because once words leave our mouths, they have a life of their own.  Try as we might, we can NOT retrieve them!

So with good will towards our mothers and children, we must weigh our words, because they have lifelong consequences.  This takes great intentionality...thinking before we speak!
Check out what the scriptures say in the Book of James, chapter 3.

Will my words build her up?
Will my words gently correct and guide, or tear her down and wound her spirit?

"LORD, please fill my mind and heart with YOUR words!   YOU convict but never condemn.  YOU are always kind and caring, help me to be too."

"Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances."
                                                                                                Proverbs 25:11