I changed the world with my words last night.
At least for one little girl and one mommy.
I have a friend who says his view of hell is having to constantly brush millions of screaming toddler's teeth. He loathes the evening teethbrushing fight. I gotta admit, I'm almost there.
Why is it that a perfectly darling toddler turns into a squirming, thrashing, wailing maniac when approached with a small, soft brush smeared with a speck of minty paste? And haven't you heard that the jaw is the strongest muscle in the body? I believe it, cause despite all logic, when it comes to prying open a mouth with a toothbrush, every 2 year old on the planet has a stronger clamped-tight-bite than the hand of any superhero. Toothbrushing is like the ultimate torture somehow. That and nose-wiping. I don't get it. But it drives me crazy.
So Serene has been doing the toothbrushing-avoidance-maniac-dance for awhile now. Some nights are worse than others. And truly, she's way better than a few weeks ago. But last night I just wasn't up for the fight.
Instead of the usual, "Serene Eliana, obey Mommy and open your mouth right now!" - I experimented with the power of my words.
Before she could even think of squirming away, and before she had the chance to open or not open her mouth, I said, "Whoa, look at you, Serene! You're the best tooth brushing girl ever!"
She looked at me in confusion for about 1/2 a millisecond...then beamed, and opened wide!
I continued to speak the words that I wanted to be true of her...how cooperative she was, what a great spitter-in-the-sink she was, how super she was at getting those top, front, hidden-tight-behind-grimace-lips teeth she was...
And she became what I spoke of her.
God's Word spoke the world into existance. And He tells me in scripture that the words of my tongue have the power of life or death. My words have the power to change her little world, standing on a stepstool in the upstairs bathroom. My words have the power to change my heart toward my precious little girl.
What can your words have the power to change today?
