When I was a little girl, my mom taught me a little rhyme that perhaps your
mom taught you. She told me to remember:
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."
Somehow, then it made me feel vindicated to repeat it to myself when other boys as girls tried to hurt my feelings or when my brother tried to antagonize me. I guess convincing myself their ugly words were stupid made me feel a little vindicated. Of course, it wasn't fool-proof. Sometimes some words got through that defense and hurt me anyway.
As I grow up, I hear more words, and not all of them are nice. Quite a few of them get through a leave a sting behind. The more that happens, the more stings I feel, the harder it is to believe that "words can never hurt me." It's hard to believe what mom said was really any more than an effort to curb my tattling, but here's the thing: That phrase, It's not a lie. It's an important lesson.
We all know that words really are powerful, and we know how a word can leave a wound that hurts forever. We've all been hurt some time by something someone said, but knowing that and feeling hurt are not enough. If all we do is not believe that words can never hurt, then every word that's ever said will do exactly that! We must guard our hearts from little hurts. We mustn't let them be stained with thoughtless words that don't mean anything. We can only let the big things through, but even then, we must take heed to quickly wipe them off.
Don't wear your heart on your sleeve, but don't hide in a box. Protect it when you can, but when you can't, take care to patch it up. You can't stop hurtful words from cutting, but you can choose how long to let them bleed.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."
Somehow, then it made me feel vindicated to repeat it to myself when other boys as girls tried to hurt my feelings or when my brother tried to antagonize me. I guess convincing myself their ugly words were stupid made me feel a little vindicated. Of course, it wasn't fool-proof. Sometimes some words got through that defense and hurt me anyway.
As I grow up, I hear more words, and not all of them are nice. Quite a few of them get through a leave a sting behind. The more that happens, the more stings I feel, the harder it is to believe that "words can never hurt me." It's hard to believe what mom said was really any more than an effort to curb my tattling, but here's the thing: That phrase, It's not a lie. It's an important lesson.
We all know that words really are powerful, and we know how a word can leave a wound that hurts forever. We've all been hurt some time by something someone said, but knowing that and feeling hurt are not enough. If all we do is not believe that words can never hurt, then every word that's ever said will do exactly that! We must guard our hearts from little hurts. We mustn't let them be stained with thoughtless words that don't mean anything. We can only let the big things through, but even then, we must take heed to quickly wipe them off.
Don't wear your heart on your sleeve, but don't hide in a box. Protect it when you can, but when you can't, take care to patch it up. You can't stop hurtful words from cutting, but you can choose how long to let them bleed.
"Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult."
Proverbs 12:16
Your heart. Your hurt. Your choice. Choose carefully.
good
ReplyDeleteWhat I think works even better is learning to do as Jesus did on the cross. He prayed Father forgive them for they know not what they do. The ones throwing the sticks and stone actually has the bigger problem. If we pray that prayer with genuine concern for their spiritual condition, our hearts will be protected.
ReplyDeleteMom on Katie's account
Yes very true mom! :D I do that too. I just try to deal with one point at a time on my posts so they can stay short a readable.
ReplyDelete