Just Words

Do you still hear the comment of a teacher, doctor, coach, counselor, or parent predicting your future? The words may have given you hope or caused you to feel defeat. But the amazing thing is that you remember them as if they were spoken to you yesterday. Was the prediction accurate? Has your life reflected the opinion of that respected person or did you make your own way? I have a friend who was told by a teacher in the eighth grade that he would never amount to anything. Almost 50 years later, he still struggles with feelings of damaged self worth even after achieving a satisfying and successful career in the very field that had precipitated the remark. However, I had a camp counselor that told me at age nine that I would do great things one day. I’m not sure what God intends for me with those words of encouragement but I have never forgotten them. We are babysitting our granddaughters this week and I am reminded how impressionable and vulnerable the heart, mind, and psyche of these little ones are. We must be so careful with what we say – to speak words of life and not death. In Jeremiah 29:11, the Lord says, “I know the plans I have for your, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Someone may think they have the inside track for our life but only our Heavenly Father knows where we are headed. His plan will never disappoint us and we can trust the One who made us to make sure we succeed.