Honey from a mason jar

As a pastor, I have shared many youth moments before a sermon. Some have resonated with the congregation, while others have stayed with me long after the service was over. Every now and then, a simple message reaches a place in my own heart that I didn’t know needed to be touched. That happened with a mason jar filled with positive words. It was a youth moment that came to memory during my morning cup of coffee.
The mason jar was filled with strips of paper, each one printed with a single word: friendship, acceptance, courage, love, forgiveness, and kindness. I was purposeful in selecting only positive words, wanting to set the mood for the sermon and give the young ones encouraging thoughts.
As the words were pulled from the jar and explained, it was obvious that just speaking them made the people listening feel good. There was something about hearing a positive word spoken aloud that seemed to settle into their hearts, bringing smiles to their faces. I began to realize how easily we underestimate the power of a word when spoken out loud.
Our language is our communication, and we use words every day to express what we think and how we feel. Some are spoken without much thought. Some are spoken in frustration. Some are spoken in jest. And some are spoken with intention. We often don’t stop to consider just how much our words can affect the person listening or how long they can linger after the moment.
Thinking of that little mason jar of words carried me to the creation story. It is during creation that we hear the voice of God speaking light into the darkness. It was His voice that called the heavens and the earth into existence. He set an order to the winds and the tides, quieting the chaos before Him with the spoken word.
There are times when life becomes chaotic. The tides within our souls can rise, and darkness can find its way into places we never expected. In those moments, a word of encouragement or hope can remind us that we are not alone. We may not calm every storm or change another person’s circumstances, but we can speak life into the darkness. God spoke good into creation and we were created in His image. We cannot speak a world into existence as God did, but we have been given the ability to speak into the world around us
Perhaps that is what stayed with me about that little mason jar. It was not really about the pieces of paper or even the words printed on them. It was about the reminder that our words carry something with them. Our words can bring comfort and healing. When we speak, someone is listening. And sometimes, what we say becomes the very thing someone needed to hear that day.
Maybe we all need an imaginary jar of good words within reach. Not because every word we speak will change a situation, but because we never know when one small word can make a difference in someone’s life. We can choose our words carefully. We can choose to speak life. We can choose to leave a little more light wherever we go.
That morning, I thought I was preparing a simple message for a group of young people. Instead, God used a mason jar to remind me that good words are worth carrying and worth giving away.
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. Proverbs 16:24

Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.