“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
-Ephesians 4:29
When I was about 11, someone in my life I care for very much, who loved me very much, said something to me that I remember as a funny story. However, as I shared this story with my wife Hannah, I started weeping. I don’t cry very often or very easily, but somehow this “funny” thing in my conscious mind that I had thought was quite humorous, my subconscious mind or my heart felt it as a wound. I had never processed this incident well as a child.
I’m driving the car, telling this story, and then started weeping. I cried all the way home, gained my composure, went into the house, started thinking about it again, and went out into the woodshed and cried for another 30 minutes. It was cathartic as I prayed into that memory. It released something that had been swirling around inside of me that I never even knew was there.
What I did finally realize is that what was said about me does not define who I am. What truly defines me, and defines you as well, is that we’re God’s beloved. We’re his children and he loves us forever.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, you are not disappointed in me. You do not judge me based on what I do or what I have or what others say about me. Thank you for your unconditional love. Amen.
REFLECTION: Has a loved one ever wounded you with harsh words? How have you healed from those words?
