Words, Part 1

Good morning and Happy Sabbath, friends and neighbors.  It's been quite a while since I wrote anything here.  I've been neglectful and I hope to remedy that.  Any who, I've got a few words to share with you.

Yesterday, I had my morning tea and devotion outside on our little postage stamp patio.  It was nice and cool with a humid undertone.  As I was chatting with my Heavenly Daddy, I began thinking about words.  The words we speak.  The words we write.  Even the words we think.  All of these words influence us and have a profound affect on ourselves and others.

The thought that came into my mind was just this:  What do I want my last words, this side of eternity, to be?

I began thinking about that.  Now, I have a tendency to yell at stupid drivers.  You know, someone who is in the far inside left lane and then crosses the middle lane to get to the far right lane to turn.  They do it at the last possible moment, usually cutting off people whilst doing it.  Or the guy who just has to pull out from the side road right in front of you and then just putts along, causing you to hit your brakes to avoid hitting him.  I know that I have yelled some not very nice things at people like that.

What if?  What if, after having yelled, "Holy moly, mother of Chow Mein!  Who did you sleep with to get your license?"  What if I got creamed by someone else?  What if those words were the last to leave my mind and exit through my mouth?  True, there would be no one in the vehicle with me to bare witness to my outburst.  Except, there would be.  There always is.  Holy Spirit.  I ask Holy Spirit to be with me each day.  Holy Spirit would be witness to my outburst.

Then another thought occurred to me.  The last words that Jesus spoke before dying.  He asked His Father to forgive those that had crucified Him.  "And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do..."  I don't think He was just referring to those who had physically crucified Him, either.  I think He was referring to all of us.  I think He was about to pay the price that we should pay and with His dying breath, He pleaded with His Father to forgive all of us. How powerful are the words He spoke that day?  Powerful enough to echo through the ages, before and after the cross.

I leave you with this thought.  Words are powerful.  Especially when it's a parting "shot".  So...what will your parting shot be?  Blessing or curse?  It's up to you.