I could probably go on about this forever, but I won't! I think I've already decided what my next soapbox will be (intentionality) and this will lead right into it. Another book I have read didn't really strike me as poignant until I started thinking about it in the light of "The Red Tent" and the influence Jacob was able to have on the generations to come. The book "Outlander" is basically about a woman who accidentally falls into 1743 from 1943. Initially her struggle is to get back to 1943, then her struggle is whether or not she WANTS to go back because she has fallen in love. Her struggle is also on what she knows about history and how she may or may not be able to change it with her knowledge. The thought of changing history disturbs her, as I guess it would any of us. She confides in a priest where she came from and her struggle with what she knows about the future (future from a 1743 perspective). His reply was quite eloquent. She had been an army nurse in 1943 and he pointed out that she very well may have been changing history then -- keeping someone alive who may have otherwise died, for instance. What if that person later had a child that went on to invent great things or cure a horrible disease? She just didn't have the blessing (or curse) of having seen it written only to need it to be corrected. Everything that we do changes the pages of a history book yet to be written.
Since I'm not a nurse or in the medical profession in any way (I gag when my kids have a loose tooth) I'm tempted to think, "Well, that doesn't apply to me -- I'm certainly not saving lives." But I've been around long enough to see the impact my mere words have on people. Anyone's words, really -- helpful or hurtful, words stick with people. Especially children.
I also recently read an article about a grown woman who became terrified of a neighbor woman because she heard the way she spoke to her own children. THAT really spoke to me. Not only my actions, but my words have the power to change history -- if only the history of one person's life. That's so frightening to me considering how quickly words tumble from my mouth -- sometimes with very little thought behind them. I pray that others are as ready with forgiveness as I am with my words!
I have been at this computer most of today -- and I'm too tired to go into how it was all pretty much useless and I'll have to do it again tomorrow on another computer!
Let me just say that I'm the VBS data-entry person. After today, I may be in danger of losing my job!
Everybody have a great Sunday worshipping and fellowshipping!
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