I wrote last time about writing. But let’s say that you’re like Jack, and writing really isn’t your thing. You sign your name as needed, make shopping lists from time to time, but that’s about the extent of it. As I say, Jack was like that. He had lots to say — he just did not like to write any of it down.
But he could speak, and so can we all. As my brother puts it, “What’s the good word?”
Good words don’t have to be long. A friend of Jack’s from the bowling league checks in on me every month or so. Our phone conversations are rarely more than a couple minutes, but they do the trick. “We’re rooting for you,” he said once. “You’re here and I care.” Short—and sweet.
Another friend called because she decided “if I think about someone, I should call them.” And so she did.
But suppose you don’t particularly like to talk on the phone either? Again, that was Jack. He most preferred talking one on one or in small groups. Not writing, primarily, or being on the phone. But what of it? The main thing was he could speak, and when he did, it was good for those of us he spoke with. As has been said,
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.
Proverbs 12:25
So “what’s the good word” today?
And who might we help by saying it?