flipping through page after page of old journal entries—handwriting strewn, a rainbow of pen colors, some written hurriedly out of frustration, some written tediously with care—and i was suddenly overcome with a fascination with words. there are over 250,000 words in the english language. with that huge number there have been literally billions of different combinations—resulting in the most beautiful pieces of literature we’ve read, memorable lyrics that have stuck in our heads, verses we have centered our lives on. i’ve always had quite the liking for words in general. they are my love language, after all. lately, however, i’ve been simply in awe of the fact that a simple combination of letters, words, and punctuation can have so much power. string together some random words and you can suddenly have a tangible idea. actions may speak louder than words, but words still speak. the fact that you can take a thought out of your head and share it with others using words is just plain awesome. the fact that, through words, you can emote power and evoke a stirring in someone else’s heart—i think that’s just beautiful. i’m literally surrounded by words. literally…as in, i have piles of textbooks sitting on my desk, a collection of my favorite books sitting on my shelf, a stack of journals with my own words at my right, bible verses written in little places, letters and notes plastering every inch of my walls. i’m surrounded by words. most of the same words are used over and over, but they each hold distinctly separate meanings. some combinations are so beautifully paired that they result in the beautiful poetry that i’ve grown to love. some combinations speak of the state of my heart—prayers, a way of communicating with my God. some combinations are silly—handwritten letters reminding me of memories and inside jokes. some combinations have spoken so much truth into my life that they have been underlined, hilighted, re-told, and re-printed onto my heart and into my life. so often i forget the power behind words, but tonight i’m fascinated.
