Recently someone said something very hurtful to me, and I felt the sting of it for several days. Remember the old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me?” Well, they may not hurt in a physical sense, but unkind words can hurt emotionally. Words, whether spoken in kindness or with malice, can never be taken back. A kind word can heal and bless, but an unkind word causes strife and stress. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Another scripture, found in Proverbs 25:11 says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”

It’s sometimes hard to know what to say and when to say it, but God will help us use the right words when we speak to others, if we just ask. Have you spoken words of encouragement to someone this week? Has someone said something meaningful or helpful to you? The Lord wants us to speak the truth, while seeking peace through our words

On a recent trip to Ohio, at the hotel where we stayed, the soap dish was place on the right-hand side of the sink. In our bathroom at home, it’s on the left side. I could have moved the hotel’s soap dish to the left side, but there wasn’t much room for it there, so I left it on the right side. After a few days, I got used to where it was, and didn’t think much about it until we returned home. The first time I went to use the soap, I reached to the right and quickly discovered that the soap wasn’t there–it was on the left, just as it had always been. What had happened was that in the two weeks I was gone, I had developed a habit of reaching to the right for the soap and would need to readjust my thinking.

Habits occur when we do things over and over, but when we stop doing them, even for a short time, the habit is broken. There are good habits, like brushing our teeth or washing our hands. Also going to church, reading the Bible, and praying are good habits. However, in order to maintain those habits, we need to continually do them. If we stop doing a good habit for any length of time, it soon is no longer a habit.

Some people also develop what most would consider bad habits, like smoking, biting one’s fingernails, or using foul language. Some habits, while not actually bad, can be annoying: tapping one’s foot, whistling, or popping your fingers. There are, of course, many other good, bad, and annoying habits I haven’t mentioned.

The thing about habits is that they can either improve one’s life or make it more difficult. The habit of going to church, reading the Bible, and praying, are all things every Christian needs to do. However, when those habits are broken, then our spiritual life and focus on God becomes diminished. What habits in your life have made you a better person? Are there some habits you need to break?

My heart is breaking right now, for I just learned that one of my special “English” friends has an incurable cancer. I would ask that you join me with prayers on her behalf, as well as for her dear husband. I found it especially touching to learn that a group of their Amish friends recently came to pay a call on them, even bringing a meal along. Before the Amish women left my friends’ home, they gathered around the wife who is ill, to give her a hug and a kiss, which let her know just how much they cared.

As I reflected on this, and said a prayer for them myself, I was reminded of how important it is for each of us to be sensitive to other’s needs — to pray for them and let them know how much we love them through our words and deeds. It seems that we often get too busy doing so many “things” that we sometimes forget to spend time with our friends or let them know how much we care.

None of us knows how long we have to live on this earth, which is why we need to live each day as if it’s our last.
Is there someone you know who needs a touch from God today? They can receive that touch by your act of love and kindness.

“Heavenly Father, may my heart always be sensitive to others in need, and may they see the love of Christ living in me. Amen.”