Words to Live By

from The Help

These are three of the best lines ever written. If you haven’t read the book The Help, please go get it.  It’s not just the words but how they are said. When Aibileen Clark comforts Mae Mobley with these words you can hear her heart in them, and see the love she has for this precious child. It is Aibileen’s utter belief that these words apply to her small charge that is so moving.

Has anyone ever, with their hearts on their sleeves, said words like these to you? Have you ever been told you are kind, smart, and important? There is a staggering statistic that for every negative comment someone says it takes at least 10 positive comments to undo the damage.  It’s no wonder marriages are failing and children are looking for acceptance wherever they can find it.  We forget to speak words of encouragement and love to those we claim to love the most.

Think about the damage “little” words can do. The phrase ‘words can never hurt me’ is a lie.  Words have the power to reveal hate or love.  They show what is in the bottom of our hearts.  If we claim to love, then I dare us all to be bold in that love.  You never know when the chance to do so will suddenly be gone.  Ask the family who lost their 16 year old daughter in the tornado that ripped through my home state of Alabama on January 23rd.

I believe with all my heart that our families and friends need to hear words of love that come from our hearts. These words bring life and confidence to the receiver, and joy to the giver (it feels good to build others up). They are easily reproduced and passed along. The ripples they cause are beautiful.

So today, I dare you…

…to smile at someone you don’t know.

…to speak heartfelt and kind words to those around you.

….to love your family, your husband, your children with reckless abandon.

I can promise you will never be the same once you do. You can pass it on because…

You is Kind; You is Smart; You is Important!