Words Framing Our Reality:

I recently worked through “The Trust Journal,” by Lysa Terkeurst.  I had read her original book this journal goes with, “I want to Trust You, but I don’t.”  Lysa has been a Christian leader I have followed for a long time.  She has gone through some trials from her health to her first marriage.  However, she has stayed steady with her relationship with the Lord.  She has shown her learning and growth from her therapy and now she is sharing her learning with us. 

I enjoyed working in this journal.  I will be honest that I don’t necessarily struggle a lot with trust issues or have really struggled with people breaking my trust in a catastrophic way.  However, through my life, there have been some small issues and some people who have hurt me and have made me doubt certain things. 

There was a section recently I really enjoyed and it was all about words, especially the words we say to ourselves.  One quote was “My counselor loves to remind me that words do frame our reality.”  I love this because I have always tried to remind myself of the importance of words.  Words do really have power and are important for our progress, both our normal everyday progress, and our relationship with Christ. 

I have found words really do affect how I feel about something.  When I am optimistic and excited to either try something or am about ready to meet up with someone who I can’t wait to connect with again, I will use positive language.  There isn’t a lot that slows me down or makes me upset.  However, when there are things I am nervous about doing or participating in and there are people who I am about to see who I am not as excited to see, then I can sometimes fall into using negative language.  I will get more frustrated a lot easier or I am a lot more irritable to those who I am around.  

There are some important verses about using the correct words and using words as a way to build us up.  There are also a few verses about how important words are for building others up and making others see us as encouraging and loving.  The verse I want to highlight is, Ephesians 4:29 which says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”  

The challenge for this week is to spend time thinking about how you speak or the words you are usually using.  How do you usually think about or talk about things?  Are there times you are really down on yourself and don’t understand how to get out of a negative headspace or consume negative thoughts?  If so, this can make it really hard to find ourselves out of a negative situation.  

If you do find yourself struggling to talk positively or encouragingly to yourself, then I would recommend doing some journaling or finding someone you can talk to when you feel as though you are not doing the best at giving yourself positive affirmations.  This can be a chance to write down the thoughts you are having and why you may be struggling to talk positively. 

My husband Cole has been really good about correcting this language for me.  There will be days I will come home from a run, and I will be really discouraged by my run.  I will be disappointed when I am slower than I would prefer.  I would be upset if I didn’t feel super great on my run.  I will overall be disappointed with myself.  Similarly I will get this way when I do a rough job at work and I feel as though I will never be good at my job or I am not the best mentor.  Whenever I fail, I find myself talking a bit harshly to myself.  I find myself giving myself negative thoughts for the future.  

Maybe also consider being the person in someone else’s life who reminds others to be positive.  Be the person who is uplifting the other in positivity and warmth, reminding them of God’s goodness and love.  Maybe you will be the person in the office who chooses not to gossip and be discouraging, but rather who chooses to be kind and encouraging.  Words do have a lot of power, and it is important to remember that for this following week.