{"id":8863,"date":"2012-01-03T14:08:40","date_gmt":"2012-01-03T20:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=8863"},"modified":"2012-01-03T14:17:59","modified_gmt":"2012-01-03T20:17:59","slug":"the-power-of-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/01\/the-power-of-words\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Our fifth child was born premature, spent time in the NICU\u00a0and has various developmental delays.\u00a0\u00a0Recently, a friend and I were talking about any future children I might conceive when she\u00a0made the comment, “Well, your early delivery with your fourth child was your warning sign.”<\/em><\/p>\n

What was that supposed to mean?\u00a0 That because we chose to have a fifth we brought this on ourselves?\u00a0 That it’s somehow our fault our child was born premature?\u00a0 Or, did her comment really just mean she was\u00a0worried about me?\u00a0 I think it’s probably the latter.\u00a0 She followed up her initial observation by telling me that every time she visited us in the hospital she went home and cried.\u00a0 That gave me pause to think.\u00a0 How can\u00a0our words lift someone up or bring them down?<\/p>\n

During a recent homily, the priest shared the old adage:\u00a0 “Talk is cheap.”\u00a0 He followed it by saying if talk really is cheap, if it costs us nothing, then what we say should be thought about carefully.\u00a0 It should glorify God and it should witness to our love of Christ.\u00a0 Whoa.\u00a0 How did I send my husband off to work this morning?\u00a0 Did I have words of praise or criticism for my children as they scurried off to school?\u00a0 Does my preschooler feel loved by my words or inadequate in her ability to accomplish a task because I brushed her off?\u00a0 On some days I would be proud to answer those questions, other days, I would rather crawl in the black hole.<\/p>\n

The many hospital stays with our preemie gave me ample moments of prayer and reflection.\u00a0 I was able to have conversations with friends I might not have had otherwise.\u00a0 The pretenses were laid down and we spoke freely.\u00a0 I lovingly say, I got to see the amazing compassion of my\u00a0friends and family through their words and actions.\u00a0 Just when I needed it most, a word of advice or inspiration was shared and the burden lifted.\u00a0 But, I don’t believe it takes a tragedy for words to be meaningful.<\/p>\n

As we engage in conversations, both virtual and in-person, how is Christ present?\u00a0 If a stranger were to overhear us would they be inspired or appalled?\u00a0 If words were all we had, I wonder what the world might think of me.\u00a0 I’m hopeful that they would see a woman who’s confident and proud.\u00a0 A mother who fiercely loves her children.\u00a0 A wife who thinks she married the love of her life.\u00a0 An Aggie who dreams of winning a national championship in football.\u00a0 Hey, never underestimate the power of a sense of humor.<\/p>\n

There’s nothing I love more than receiving a handwritten note.\u00a0 As I was cleaning out the files, readying my office for the new year, I came across several gems.\u00a0 They made me smile.\u00a0 There were birthday greetings, get well wishes and even a few that brought me back to my childhood.\u00a0 As hard as I looked though, I couldn’t find a single negative card.\u00a0 You see, we only keep the ones that lift us up, the ones that renew our spirit, that remind us that we’re loved.<\/p>\n

May what we say today lift someone else<\/em> up, renew their<\/em> spirit, remind them<\/em> that they’re loved.\u00a0 May someone else hear Jesus through us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our fifth child was born premature, spent time in the NICU\u00a0and has various developmental delays.\u00a0\u00a0Recently, a friend and I were talking about any future children I might conceive when she\u00a0made the comment, “Well, your early delivery with your fourth child was your warning sign.” What was that supposed to mean?\u00a0 That because we chose to… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,90],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8863","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"category-faith-blog","8":"entry","9":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40423,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/07\/mommy-i-look-fat\/","url_meta":{"origin":8863,"position":0},"title":"Mommy, I Look Fat: A Lesson in Self-Worth","author":"Kathryn Whitaker","date":"July 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cMommy, I look fat.\u201d Oh those are words every mom dreams her child will say, no? 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