Glassware

Hello Friend!

Are you having a good summer?  Have you eaten your body weight in Popsicles yet? Today I am feeling morally virtuous because i folded laundry and bought groceries.  This means I didn't finish my writing so I'm pulling out a post I did on a rough day when I wanted to speak my mind to someone who was a bit of a toad.  I hope your summer is free from toads and that you are spending time with people who build you up and whose company you enjoy.   

Behold: My gift in action!

It was early morning and I was plodding around my dark kitchen doing tasks that should have been done the night before.  I unloaded the dishwasher, swept the floor and started to put away dishes beside the sink.   Reaching for a mug, I felt something sharp slice my finger.   I squawked, hushed myself and grabbed my hand.  Crimson trickled from my finger onto my palm as I turned on the light trying to understand what I had done. 

“Ow, ow, ow!” I fussed.  I was cross now, few things make me as angry as being confused.  I growled at the draining board and furrowed my brow.  What had I done?  I would have missed it if I hadn’t shifted slightly and seen the light catch.  A broken piece of glass sat nestled between the cups.  With surgical skill, I managed to slice myself on its edge.  What on earth was that doing there?  Where had it come from?

I didn’t need to think too hard.  I have a special skill that only my housemates know:  I break glassware.  I break a lot of glassware.  I break a lot of glassware a lot of the time.  My husband and I first noticed this skill when we got married.  We received a great set of glasses as a wedding gift and six months into our marriage, I had reduced the set to half its original size.  I view it as an ability, a continual quest to find long lasting glass products.  My husband doesn't agree.  Over the years, he has taken to feeling somewhat persecuted by my gifting because he likes to have nice glasses.  We all want what we can’t have.  It isn't like I break things intentionally, I just find the stuff really slippery….and fragile.  Why make something that can be broken that easily anyway?

It isn’t just drinking glasses either.  I can smash almost anything.  Mason jars, wine glasses, vases, you name it, and I've broken it.  Examining the shard of glass, I realized it came from a wine glass I had murdered the day before.  Filling the sink with hot soapy water, I swished a glass back and forth when the entire top inch of the glass broke away in a perfect circle.  Not technically murder, more like manslaughter, I think it was poor manufacturing.

I reached for a tissue and wrapped it around my finger.  Slowly, the white turned to scarlet as the bleeding slowed.  Feeling melodramatic, I grabbed a second tissue and waited to bleed out.   When I realized that wasn't going to happen, I marveled that I could be minding my own business one minute, then in pain the next.  Reflecting on the incident made me think of a phone call a few days earlier that seemed similar.  I made a call to an acquaintance to get their opinion on a matter.    The call seemed pleasant enough, but suddenly and without any warning, the person on the other end of the line got angry and fired off a volley of sour comments and was off the phone before I could even catch my breath.  There I sat, surprised and cut to the core trying to figure out what to do with the fall out. 

Ever been there my friend?  On the receiving end of sharp words and a cutting tongue, holding your heart and bleeding?  Ever been the one who did the dicing and slicing?  Have you ever been so heated you let loose a torrent of anger that was intended to silence and flatten the recipient?  I've been on both sides of that sad equation.  

Sometimes, when I want to experience the fear of the Lord, I google the term “the power of words, scripture.”  What I find always makes me stop and think.  Here are a few of my favourites.

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Prv 12:18 

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, Matt 12:36

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Prv 21:23

Friend can I remind us both today that our words hold power?  I have within my face, the ability to seriously mess up someone’s day.  I have the power to damage my marriage in ways I never intended.  I have the ability to gossip, and ruin friendships that have taken years to build. 

Conversely, you have the ability to bring someone comfort today.  You hold the ability to bless and to bring joy.  You have the ability to cause someone to thank God. 

It’s fairly amazing really.

I'm not sure if you've noticed the abundance of negative and nasty words flying around the internet lately.  So,  I'm starting this week with prayers for the grace to build up and not tear down.  Maybe you would like to join me in asking the Lord for an opportunity to apply the balm of kind words to someone who is hurt.   Tell someone you like them, be kind, and make a friend.  Have someone over for tea, feed them a glass of something delicious, enjoy their company.

I’m praying for joy this week,

xoxKaren