I did a little fact checking on this- the average person (man or woman) speaks about sixteen thousand words a day- most are trivial- most are forgotten.
Which brings me to this thank-you card I got from a twenty-two- year-old friend of the family.
I found out that he was going to celebrate his birthday the other night, and I gave a dollar bill to his brother to present as a semi-gag birthday gift. (it’s a pretty good idea. I get a lot of mileage out of doing it and recommend it for people you know 🙂 )
Anyway, he sent me this thank-you card, the joke coming back full circle I thought with a smile.
Inside though, he wrote an additional sentence that surprised me:
“I remember you saying ‘If you pray for patience, do you think that God automatically gives you more patience, or do you think He gives you more opportunity to be patient?’”
Two things:
1-Although I believe in its’ sentiment- I have absolutely no memory of ever saying that to anyone.
2- This friend has been waiting, waiting, waiting to find out about grad school opportunities, and I’m sure has thought about what I (apparently) said.
So that makes me wonder just what good, or bad, I’ve done with my sixteen thousand words per day, what actions I have shaped without any of my knowledge?
I should probably think about this card before I open my big fat mouth: these words are pretty powerful.