Why Words Matter

Words matter.  Words can be a powerful and wonderful tool to inspire others.  Words record who we are and where we have been.  We can use words to comfort our friends in their time of need.  How often does a smile and a kind word from a stranger make us feel good about ourselves?

Some of my fondest memories in the years Tyler was at home involve times when strangers expressed kindness and compassion toward Tyler.  I remember being in a restaurant and an older couple approached our table on the way out.  The gentlemen asked if he could give Tyler a few dollars because he was inspired by how well behaved he was.  Those are the experiences that stay with me as though they happened yesterday.

Words can also be devastating.  I remember how we felt when a caregiver told us that a young boy and his father made fun of Tyler when she took him out to eat.  Fortunately Tyler didn't realize he was being mocked, but it hurt to know that someone would do that to him.

There are many of us who are leaders in one form or another.  Some lead families, congregations, businesses, towns, states, or countries, and I truly believe it has to start with all of us.  We have to be aware of what we say, and how we say it.  We fool ourselves that people like Tyler don't hear us or understand us, but they do.  They are hearing what we say, and watching what we do.  That's why I believe we need to speak to each other like our sons are listening, and our daughters.  When we stand before them and represent something, we owe it to them to do it with dignity, love, and humility.  Unfortunately it seems we are seeing less and less grace and more and more contentiousness.  For Tyler, and for everyone who so desperately needs us, we have to stop this cycle.

Words do matter.  Its time that we remember that,  and its time that we use our words to bond, and to heal, and to teach the right things.  Our children deserve that.  Tyler deserves that.

Be well and God bless.   Tom