The Power Of Words

     I had a conversation yesterday with my first cousin's daughter-in-law.  Elizabeth Frerichs - is as I like to describe her - my cousin-in-law, although that tortured genealogical term of mine is probably not even remotely accurate in describing our relation.  Second cousin-in-law?  Second cousin-in-law once removed?  I don't know.  But I do know that we're lucky to now call her "family."  

     Liz has recently had a book published, thus revealing a great talent and an interest in the subject of writing that I had previously been unaware of.  "Tales From A Spacious Place" is a series of seven short stories Liz uses to explore the cramped doorways God uses to bring us out into a spacious place.  I've read the first chapter and it makes one want to read more.  I've ordered it through Amazon, and I've been promised an autograph from the author when I can get it to her.  
     During our talk, Liz mentioned how glad she was to see that others besides immediate family were interested in her accomplishment.  When she said that, it reminded me so much of the little bits of encouragement that seemed to pop up at just the right times in my own writing "career" - nondescript that it is - giving me tiny boosts to my confidence just when I needed them.
     Back in high school, I wrote some kind of paper on the JFK assassination which Mrs. Schumann thought was pretty well done.  That gave me confidence.  At the University of Nebraska, I did well in three composition courses.  More confidence.  Later on, I was able to write for a local paper.  Being accepted for that?  More self-belief.  
     My point is this:  Encourage people along your way in life.  The smallest of kind words towards a person can have amazing benefits if given at the right time.  Praise them in their work, hobbies, the things they like to do, and their dreams.  Be open to this habit and let fate and the cosmic tumblers put the people who need those boosts directly in your path.  Because that will happen.  Fate brings people together who need to be brought together, and then at that point they help each other to levels that by themselves they would never have reached.  
     As I re-read that, it sounds completely condescending towards Liz and that's the last thing I've meant to express.  She has already achieved more as a writer than I probably ever will.  I was just relating and comparing my own experiences with hers, in that the right amount of someone taking time to care and comment on the product of one's talents and the residue of one's life can be amazingly powerful if delivered and received at the right moment.
     So Liz?  Keep writing.  Keep dreaming.  Write like no one is reading and dance like no one is watching.  You - as we all do - have something to say.  Believe in the power of words.