be kind, please

"Kind words are like honey—  sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." Proverbs 16:24

As you know, at the end of a hospital stay the doctor visits to explain your aftercare instructions.  Never having an organ tear before, i expected and needed detail instructions.  Yet, my doctor felt 2 verbal phrases were sufficient... REST and use your common sense.   What??  Being the rule follower i am,  i needed precise details, i needed to know what was normal, what to expect, what can i do, what my weight, driving or working limits or restrictions are, etc.  His unwritten instructions left way TOO much white space for my brain.

As i pushed for more specifics, each response from his tight lip fell into the same instructional short words... use your common sense.  To me, common sense is beneficial when you are familiar with a situation, but can be totally misleading or wrong if not.  After a couple of specific questions, he finally summed up "all" answers with an insinuated, short fact from his perspective:  based on your looks and age, you have likely survived this long due to your common sense.  Well, needless to say, i had no more questions.  

Is there a positive spin from this?  Of course.  It's another lesson learned for living life better. Our words need to be coated in honey, not sour milk.

We all know through experience, whether short or long, it's not so much what we say as it is how we say it.  And when someone is traveling in foreign waters or learning new information, we as teachers or leaders need to remember to patiently meet and serve others where they are... and not where we think or want them to already be.  

I hope you have a honey of a day as your words stick lovingly to the souls of those around you.

we are loved and chosen by God,

may we live, love and do like we believe it,

veneal