Words are so powerful and they can make or destroy a person. I am a firm believer in speaking life into a person. You don’t know what a person is thinking or feeling and you may have the words that person needs in order to be a great success in life! Think about it, how many people do you know that was told as a child they would never amount to anything. This may not be your story but it was mine. I did not allow the negative words of others destroy me, but used it to fuel me. I went on to accomplish much and I have all of the people that were in my life who didn’t believe in me to thank. I am not saying it in an arrogant or demeaning way, but acknowledging that all situations good or bad play a part in your development.
It was these early experiences that developed who I would and would not be to others. I think back to my first child. One of the things that was important to me, was for her not to experience the same life I had. I was determined to make her better, stronger and positioned well for life. From the time she was about 18 months old, I began teaching her about life. I would tell her the importance of making good decisions and putting God first. I would look her in the eyes and tell her that I needed her to listen to the things I said. She would shake her head and say, “Okay Mommy”. When she got about 8 I began talking about relationships because she noticed a lot of things taking place. We would have these talks often. The older she became the more info I would pour into her.
My daughter was turning 16 and I had been in prayer about her possibly wanting to date. In my heart I didn’t want her to date until she was 18 because she was smart and I wanted her to focus. I didn’t want her to have the same life I did. So the time came to have a talk and I told her the reasons why I didn’t want her to date. If she did, I said I would not take that away from her. To my surprise she cut me off before I could finish and said, “I’m okay with waiting”. It was such an easy conversation to have with her and I had to give all credit to God. He is the one who had me continuously praying for her and leading me to speak life into her. Today she is 20, in her second year of college and she speaks 2 other languages. She has just gotten her first boyfriend. She is very shy and don’t want to talk much about him. She did share that she told him she is waiting until marriage to have sex. Of course that made me smile! It is my hope that she will continue on this path. She is a beautiful girl, she is everything I wasn’t.
Who is in your life that you can speak life into? Perhaps it’s a stranger that you come across in the street.
