I wish my father was still alive so I could call him tonight and tell him we are no longer short. We are tall! It’s a grand feeling to be tall. I have never experienced it before but I know it’s true. This evening I stopped for a cup of hot chocolate (winter is coming) and my choices were tall, grande and venti. My dad would have loved it. His vocabulary was a bit spicier than mine so I can only imagine some of the expletives I would have heard after he took his cigar out of his mouth.
Life is fun. In the field of education we continually need to be alert to the latest jargon lest we offend someone by describing them with a 90’s word. Now I have to get a new dictionary because “venti” isn’t in mine. Hooray, I have a new way to play the letter “v” in Scrabble. Words are not only interesting they are powerful. With words we can sooth or rile. With words we can heal or wound. With words we can invite someone to join us in the new kingdom or make them not want to be in heaven because we are there. That’s a frightening thought. As a teacher I really need to remember that when I become frustrated with a student. I remind myself that Jesus has every legitimate reason to be frustrated with me.
Jesus’ brother James had some classic things to say about words and our production of them. Once uttered they cannot be taken back. We can be forgiven but the hurt is still there. One of the most fascinating and wonderful combination of words ever written makes the sentence “For God so loved the world He gave His only son.” How venti is that?
Written by Roger Bothwell on November 18, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org