SPEAK LOVE
This morning as I raised up from doing my civic duty (that’s code for picking up my dog’s doody), I saw a young woman on the other side of the street, who was seemingly exercising with her spouse, gaze over at my sweet little pups and mouth these words… Look at that FAT Corgi. My first instinct was to take her out at the knees, but, instead, I remembered who my God is and that He might not approve of such aggressive behavior.
Then, as we rounded the corner, bound for home, I see two guys on their bicycles coming toward us. Connah takes it out as far as he can on his leash in preparation to growl, bark and go after these two innocent guys Von Miller style. So, I reel him in and talk him down, telling him to cool it and be nice as if he were human (because, actually, he is), and as the guys pass they say, “You sure do have two beautiful dogs.” I screamed out over their music playing out of their backpacks and my ferocious dog barking, “I could kiss your face. Thank you so much for those loving words.”
Friends, there are two types of people in this world. There are those that find the worst in themselves and others and articulate it without caution. And, there are those that are searching for the best, find it and shout it to the rooftops. I can be both of those people, but I desire to be the ladder of the two.
After the burial of one of my most beloved (and, I do mean beloved and BEST) friends, Zach Sewell, his friend and my friend through Zach, Kellye Bachtel, walked over to me and said, “Jill, I want to tell you something. One day I was talking to Zach, and I asked him what was up with you quoting the late gangsta rapper, Tupac Shakur on your Facebook page. And, he responded with a great big smile. That’s just Jill. She loves everybody.” In a moment, my deep, deep sadness was eclipsed by the words of the very person I was mourning.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I was on vacation, well rested and in reflective mode. And, in His way, God spoke to me about how I had been speaking about others. It was humbling. People are not perfect. I’m an excellent example of that. People can disappoint you, hurt you, anger you and so on. How others act is pretty much out of our control. But, how we react is totally in our control. Nobody can choose the words that come from our mouths. That’s something we’re totally in control of.
When we were kiddos, jumping on the Sewell’s trampoline or diving into their tank just in front of their house, we’d stop to talk about this or that kid. Zach would say, “Let me guess, you just love that person.” And, I would say, “Yes.” I want to hold myself to that standard. I want to be the person Zach Sewell believed me to be. Someone who has an awareness of who people are but loves the heck out of them anyway and will let you know it in a New York minute. And, that the love I have for others is evident, not only in how I treat people but in how I speak love over their names.
Speaking love is a discipline. It’s something we choose word after word, day after day. And, not only can it free us up from the negative energy that weighs us down from using unloving words, but it can be transformative in the most positive way for the person you are speaking love over.
What can I say, today is a beautiful day, filled with hope. And, I’m choosing how I see it and others by what I choose to and not to say. It’s all love, every last bit. Speak words of love over someone today. The more difficult the words are to find for that person, well, those are the very ones most needed to be said. Love WINS, always.
Stay Divine,
JL PARISH
This “blob” post is dedicated to my beloved friend and angel in heaven, Zach Sewell who made me better because he was my friend. And, he never missed an opportunity to speak love over me.
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