“Sticks and Stones…”
01.24.2021
I’m sure we’ve all heard the saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. That’s a saying I actually hate! Words definitely hurt… sometimes more than actions. Ever talked about someone because of the way they dressed and later learned that was the only pair of clothes they had because they were homeless?
Or maybe someone overheard you in the breakroom at work talking about the co-worker that’s always late and you later found out that person was fighting a life-threatening illness and was receiving treatment every morning before work. You never know what a person is facing, and sometimes your words can hit harder than a “Mike Tyson” punch. Depending on the headspace a person is in, your words might be the very words that make them want to end it all.
For a while, I hated the fact that I was different, and the fact that I wasn’t as independent as my peers. I absolutely hated that I needed help with the simplest tasks, like opening a bottle of water. One of the hardest things for me to do is to ask for help. And when people tell me things like, “you really need help with that?”, or “I saw a visually impaired person on tv last night, and he wasn’t like you; he was way more independent”, it makes me cringe. It brings me to a feeling of resentment and make me regret asking for help. Of course, I always try to keep a straight face. But on the inside, I am literally falling apart, because little do they know, it took me a while to ask for help, and it’s likely that it took every ounce of strength in my body to even get dressed that day.
The older I get, the more I realize that it’s ok to be different. Heck, we are all different in some way, shape or form. And sometimes standing out will get you in places you never imagined.
Truth is, we are all fighting something, some type of battle. But in a blink of an eye, God can change our situations. That person you laughed at for the way they were dressed could be the person that one day has to take care of you, or the co-worker you talked about for always being late, could end up being your boss. So, the next time you want to say something mean to or about someone, ask yourself, “would I want someone to say something like that to me?” Remember, words are powerful, and their impact can last a lifetime. Once they leave your lips, you can’t take them back. While apologizing may fix a situation, it does not change what you said.
To everyone out there fighting a battle, keep your heads up. You’ve got this. God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers. No matter what anyone does or says to you, they can’t change God’s plan for you. And trust, if He brought you to it, He will certainly bring you through it.