Mean Girls: The Power of Words With Leanna Crawford Sample

DAY 2 

Their whispers opened up the door

To a world called insecure

No, mean girls don't remember what they said

My thoughtful parents gave me a book when I was probably eight years old about an armadillo with really big ears. He used his ears to listen to things he shouldn’t and then gossip to others. He thought he was so clever. Well, those big ears eventually got him into trouble and he learned that it wasn’t right to listen to other people’s conversations. To this day, I’m still not sure if I was the armadillo in the story or my parents just thought it was a cute book. Might have to ask them. 

If I remember correctly, the whole premise of the book was “don’t gossip because it can hurt others.” One of my best friends in high school told me that one of her friends didn’t like me very much. As my character was attacked by this person with harsh accusations, I was stunned, confused and hurt. Some of those things she said might have even had some truth to them, but instead of coming directly to me, this girl decided it would be better to vent to my friend. I felt terrible. Her comments fueled my insecurities and made space for new ones I didn’t know I had.

Gossip is the worst. It hurts to be on the receiving end, but I’ve also been on the other side too. I don’t want to be like the armadillo, spreading rumors about someone and being thoughtless with my words. God cares about the words that come out of our mouths. It’s easy to talk about someone behind a door, where you think no one is listening. But goodness gracious, if I could tell the amount of times I wished I could grab my words and stuff them deep into a pocket, well, it’s been a lot. We can’t always control what other people say about us or to us, but we can control what we say about others.

Words have power. Let’s use them to lift others up instead of tear down. Let’s choose to be the reason why someone feels encouraged rather than insecure. 

Prayer: Lord, help everything I say and do build others up instead of tearing them down. Help every word I speak to glorify Your name.