Positive Words, A Soldier's Treasure

There once was a young boy who like many others, just loved to talk and was always full of energy. Well, his middle school teacher found his energy and none-stop talking a bit frustrating at times. He truly was a wonderful boy, who with each admonishment would simply reply with, “thank you for correcting me!”

One time, the teacher told him that if he wasn’t quiet, that she’d put masking tape over his mouth. Well, as you probably guessed, he couldn’t contain his energy and enthusiasm. So, the teacher placed the tape over his mouth in the shape of an X. When she returned to the front of the room and looked back at him; we simply smiled and winked at her. This melted her heart, so she promptly removed the tape. To her surprise, his response was to thank you for correcting him.

During a particularly challenging class, no one seemed to be listening and the children all bickered with one another. She thought to herself, I need to break this cycle of taking their frustrations out on their classmates. So, she told everyone to put away their books and everything on their desks except for a piece of paper and pencil. Next, she had each student compile a list containing each student’s name and one thing that was good about them. She later collected the lists and collated the information. She brought them all home and created a list of the positive words given by each of the children into for every child to read.

She never thought much about this exercise until many years later. A man came to the school to see if she would attend a funeral. You see, the little boy so full of life had grown-up to pursue his dream of becoming a Soldier. Sadly, however, he was killed in combat and was to be laid to rest that week. Interestingly, they found an old worn-out piece of paper in his chest pocket. It was that very list from way back in middle school detailing all of the “good things” that the other kids said about him.

When the father asked the teacher if she remembered doing that exercise with the children, she barely remembered. At the funeral, one by one, his former classmates all shared how they too still carried their tattered lists with them, each and every one of them. The teacher wept and wished that she could have one more chance to tell that little boy how wonderful he was.

Isn’t it amazing how powerful positive words can be!? What seeds are we sewing in the lives of others? Are we edifying others? Words are powerful!