Words of Life

I am in the process of discovering what direction I will be going in with my doctoral dissertation. It has to do with words. Healing words, peaceful words, truthful words. Words that support, that uplift, that inspire, that reveal. Words that appreciate, that give hope, and strength, and the courage to continue. Words make up our stories, weaving a web of life, connecting us together and filling us with delight and with new life.

God's word is revealed by how it flows. Different cultures and peoples have distinctive words, for life is diverse, and growing up in New York City is different than growing up in Banjul. Just as water must flow in order to be the origin of life, a stream can support the growth of lilies and a river can grow a cypress. However, a small stream joins the river and the river the ocean, and all things can gain life through this cycle.

Suppose we are a reservoir that stores these words. Are you keeping the words inside, or are they flowing out for the sake of others? The size of your reservoir doesn't matter; even a small one can overflow with truth, beauty and goodness. As water flows out of you, it will provide water for others. Perhaps it will evaporate and form clouds and give rainfall to all things; this circulation takes place everywhere, benefiting everyone.

In this way, words can sustain the life of all things. What words are we raining down on others? What is the quality of the words that feed our heads and our hearts? This value is what I want to emphasize, to unfold in my work, with my own words. If we were created with the Word, surely we can be re-created with the word.

In this time of spring, when the gentle rains can ease the transition from winter, in like manner gentle words can ease our suffering and soften the ground so that our original beauty can be reflected in the flowers that blossom. I'm hoping that my dissertation will weave a web of healing that just might reflect enough light to create a rainbow!