Letters Drawn in the Sand

   ONCE upon a time I didn't understand music. I heard it. The sounds would fill my ears and the beat would run through my veins. Clumsy and more prone to tripping over my feet than walking in grace, I would still dance.

Dance because angels sing. Because heaven rejoices with music.

We teach our BABIES simple songs because they delight in it. Our voices can be rough and scratchy and they will find grace. And dance. And delight. And smile.

Hero Hottie taught me art. He taught me to LISTEN. To dissect the lyrics. He taught me to CHALLENGE the words that filled my ears and DECIPHER their meanings.

Because how can you say what you STAND FOR if you haven't LISTENED to the WORDS?

All words have MEANINGS. Some more than one. Some words are like double edged swords, the wound goes deep.

Some words come with a smile. With a dance. With GRACE.

With TRUTH.

And some words linger in your babies' hearts, darkening the edges, destroying their sense of grace. Silencing their dance.

Abu has had to deal with words of that nature this year. Words that made fun of her brand new baby sister, words that made her doubt her sense of style, words that made her doubt her importance in the world. I have spent months BUILDING back up her confidence.

Bean has had to deal with words that she shouldn't had shared, because sometimes words are to be kept like TREASURES.  Words shared between friends where they are supposed to be kept safe and secure and nourished. She will be more careful in the future when given such PRECIOUS items.
She has had also had to deal with words that made her feel not good enough...no matter what she did. These words have caused her to be angry and now I have to find the words to help her deal with that pain without allowing the ANGRY words to eat her soul.



Words can FEED the soul. Nourish the SPIRIT.  I have discovered that this year by developing some AWESOME friendships.

They have shown me how words between friends can BLOSSOM in the soul like a flower bed gone wild with blooms and butterflies and JOY.
Now I can't imagine a world without the WORDS from my friends. 


If only we had a filter over our ears, so that we only heard the good stuff.  So that we never bring into our adulthood ideas caused by constant HATEFUL words. How my heart cries for a small child who feels like they are a horrible person because they weren't fed NOURISHING words.


So if I PRAY often for the RIGHT words, it's because I know what the wrong word will do. And since I never know for sure if I'm saying the right word to my children, to my spouse, to my family, it's a familiar prayer.

I pray because I understand the power of a NOURISHING word...

JOY. FAITH. GRACE. HOPE. LOVE.

To all my readers: I hope you hear the nourishing words you need today to feed your soul. And I hope you find the same treasured words to pass on...with joy, hope, and grace.

And maybe a good song with the right kind of words to sing along to.