The other day my daughter had a quarrel with another student on the elementary school bus. The student said something to her and she replied, “Words can’t hurt me.” Then her bus driver mocked her and the kids on the bus laughed.
I remember those days. Do you? How about this saying? Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me. Wow. How many times did I say that at recess. A whole lot!
Today I understand that words can hurt. Much more than sticks and stones. The bruises and wounds left by sticks and stones will heal. The words we bury that have injured us don’t. We slap band-aids over our heart and pretend it is not bleeding. Then one day we begin to hemorrhage emotions we don’t understand. We wonder where the emotional pain is coming from. So we seek help. Sometimes as Christians we run to God first seeking that help. Other times we run from God because the healing process hurts. Ripping a band-aid off after 30 years hurts pretty bad.
Then when we can no longer stop the bleeding by ourselves we seek help from friends and loved ones only to find they are bleeding too, and can’t help us. So what do you do? You can’t go on bleeding. You will die. Well, when you turn to the Word of God you realize that what you thought was normal in fact was abuse. You now have to trust the Word of God to heal you or choose death. Finding a Christian counselor who can help you renew your mind from the hurtful words that have injured you is another step toward healing (see Romans 12:2). Trusting God enough to let this person be His hands and feet is hard but healing. Forgiving people for using those hurtful words, and breaking free from bitterness, anger, and wanting revenge is possible. The only thing that can heal wounds from words though is God’s Word.
Remember sticks and stones may break our bones, and words have power. Choose them wisely for both healing and speaking to others. This week here are some Words to meditate on about the words we hear and the words we use.
Proverbs 25:11, Proverbs 18:21 (New Living Translation is my favorite for this verse.), 1 Peter 2:23, I Thessalonians 5:11, Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12, Luke 8:11
My friend Holley is writing about “words” every Tuesday on her blog Heart to Heart with Holley. You can find a link to her Dayspring blog on the right of today’s post. Please join me there today and find out what God is laying on her heart about words. You will be happy you did. ❤ Melinda
Another Samaritan Woman 
Absolute truth! How wonderful this post is! I am a leader of an outreach ministry to young girls. You are right words hurt & they are remembered. They plant seeds—(I just posted on that). Seeds of turmoil, hurts and destruction….The Lord says what comes out of our mouths comes from the heart…..Our words should be that of encouragement and love.