Sticks and Stones

Lately, I've been thinking about how much our words hurt each other. I've had the nasty habit of name calling when I get upset. I don't necessarily call Micah a nasty word, but I have been known to say things like, "You're being a jerk," etc. I've learned that this is the same as name calling. It's something I'm working on and have actually improved upon. But back to where I was going before I incriminated myself.

Photo Credit: Google Images                                                                 

I remember being 15 and in high school sitting at lunch with my group of friends. Mostly, these friends were ones I'd made from my church youth group. We'd all grown up together. I guess you could say that we all knew what buttons to push when we were upset with one another. I remember one particular day, one of my guy friends was upset with me. As he stood to put away his tray, he called me a pig. For an average teen girl, that would be bad enough. For me, it was even worse. I mean, it is 15 years later and I STILL remember it. From that day on, I made a vow that I would never again allow another person to see me eat. I figured if somebody wanted to call me a name, it could not be "pig." Silly as this was, I managed to follow through with it for the most part through sophomore year of college. In retrospect, I realize this could almost be classified as a form of an eating disorder. I snuck around and took over the counter trucker speed. I was determined to not be a "pig" ever again. That one little word did so much harm.

Years later, when I was about 26 or so, I was living in Little Rock and working at American Eagle while recovering from one of my heart surgeries. I had dinner plans with a friend, but he asked me to stop downtown so he could run a quick errand first. I obliged, and dropped him off while I parked on the street. One of his friends who was outside leaned into my car window and said, "You're really pretty. You know, for a big girl." No, you know what, I don't know. How is that even a compliment?! Did this individual not think how his words could impact me? Again, that was years ago, but I still remember it. I didn't even know this guy, but it still bothers me. I have no idea why.

Around the same time, I was dating a guy who we'll refer to as "Adam". My relationship with Adam ended shortly after he compared me to a dented can of corn at the grocery store. (When you pick up a can of corn, see that it is dented, then put it back on the shelf and get a regular one. In this scenario, my heart condition was the dent in my can). This guy was clearly an idiot. But for some reason, I still think of myself from time to time as a dented can of food. When I buy canned goods, I always buy the dented ones now. Really, I do. So weird.

I guess I should get to the point of my PSA. Words hurt. We should all think carefully before we let things spew from our mouths, myself included. If for some reason my words have ever hurt you, I encourage you to let me know so that I can seek your forgiveness. Often, things we say can hurt someone as much as punching them. You never really know how long someone will hold onto what you say or how it will impact their lives. So, if you're reading this, then I'm challenging you to speak nicer to those around you. Control your tongue when you're upset. Think before allowing anything to come out. We can work on it together.

I know the tone of this post is a little different from most of my posts. I appreciate the outlet to vent my thoughts, share my experiences, and connect with readers. More light hearted stuff coming soon! :)