It should come as no surprise that someone who likes to write and read loves words. I love a well-written book, where the use of language itself adds to the story. I love poetry because of its economy of words which is still able to create vivid images. I love word games like Scrabble and Quiddler. I'm pretty sure my love language is words of affirmation.
But I hate wordiness. People who use too many words, or worse, the same words over and over. It drives me crazy when people use big words to impress and then clearly don't know what they mean. Irrationally, there are words in the English language which annoy me for no apparent reason. Words which I can't think of right now (of course), but when I hear them, I cringe.
I also hate that a lot of words have lost all meaning. We love people like we love pizza and the colour blue. The use of superlatives seems to be the new norm; everything is amazing and awesome and epic. And that's if we use words at all, instead of emojis or text abbreviations. And don't even get me started on "new" words...I know, I sound like an old lady, but what does "woke" even mean? If you answer that you opened your eyes in the morning, you are wrong and have no idea either...
All that to say, I have been thinking a lot lately about my own use of words. The Bible spot from James has been convicting me: "out of the same mouth come praise and cursing". I am not always slow to speak and quick to listen. I oftentimes blurt out things that are stupid, or inappropriate or mean or worse. I've been spending a lot of time with one of my sister in laws and I admire her thoughtfulness. She is often slow to speak and wants time to think about her answer. I have a lot to learn from her. I want to think before I speak. I want my words to be like the honey and bubbling brook the Bible talks about. So, I am trying to be more deliberate in my choice of words. I am trying to listen more. But, make no mistake, I am still me. The sarcasm will continue.
