I often look up words…
and even subscribe to the word of the day on dictionary.com.
It has challenged me to think of what to say and how to say it so the words on this blog can bring life to the story that is trying to be written.
A new word I have discovered is frangible – it’s meaning:
Capable of being broken; brittle; fragile; easily broken or to break; frail; delicate; brittle; dainty; feeble; flimsy; weak.

I moved this meaning or definition into relationships.
How we treat each other should reflect how we see ‘the power of a word’ within our souls and our hearts and the hearts of others around us.
When I was growing up my maiden name was Nichols. I would often hear from someone…”you don’t have enough sense to be a nickel.” I don’t remember who that someone was or where they were in my story but that doesn’t matter. They said it to me and I didn’t understand it for a long time until one day it hit me….”That was not a nice thing to say to a child.’
Perhaps it is the reason why I question my ability to be smart or able or capable of doing something even now as an adult. It became a core issue that was buried deeply and placed on me by someone who carelessly threw out words not realizing the impact they would have on a childs sense of themselves.

God’s word tells us over and over….
be gentle with what you say –
be careful and wise –
for what you say goes into the spirit of another and it is not easy to retract it once it has been said.
I see relationships as frangible.
They are capable of being broken.
They are fragile and delicate.
They can be frail and flimsy.
The balance between caring for each other’s hearts and soul shows us how we are to love.

I don’t think we should be so ‘brittle’ that we shatter at any harsh word said to us…
if that was the case we would all be shattered and broken people.
We will receive criticism at times.
We will receive reviews at work or at home that are not what we want to hear.
We will receive a ticket if we are in violation of the law.
It is all about perspective in the way we see ourselves
and how we let the words affect us.
The truth is: the words we say to one another have the power
to build up or break down the confidence and belief in oneself.
How you see yourself now often is a direct shadow of how you were seen as a child.
My shadow was invisible. If I could be unseen the ‘pain’ level would be less.
My world would be safer and it was easier to cope within the ’empty’ void.
I don’t think it is a sign of weakness to be easily broken.
I think it is the way God created our heart.
If someone hurts us with words it is normal to create a distance
between that person and ourselves.
The saying ‘sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never harm me’ is completely untrue and it is false teaching.
It only takes a second to build up or break down.
Shall we purpose in our ‘hearts and minds’ to become people builders and realize the power of our words.
My challenge for us is to stop… pray… think and listen to what we are about to say.
Is it helpful or hurtful…
does it build or break… is it toxic or healing.
Let this be our prayer:
Psalm 19:14 {Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer}