One Word
One word may seem so insignificant, but can make a huge
difference.
Before my husband's surgery the hospital did the normal
tests to compare his health with the previous tests just to be sure everything
was all right to proceed with the knee replacement. The nurse called with the
results and expressed a bit of concern over the glucose levels and was going to
check with the doctor to be sure the surgery could be performed the next day.
She said the glucose level was at 1000. That's when my husband began trying to figure out his own diagnosis through WebMD, a friend and his brother who is a doctor. They too all expressed concern and said that he should be in a diabetic coma with levels that high.
My husband texted me to let me know that he was going to go to the emergency room. It was strange to me, since he had seemed fine when I left the house. He was fully conscious, up walking and talking, not seeming the least bit sick. I wasn't convinced that he needed to go to the hospital, so requested that he wait until I returned home before going to the emergency room.
We drove to the hospital where the tests had been performed and asked them to call the doctor to see if the tests should be redone. That's when we saw the difference one word can make. You see the glucose level that was high was in the urine and not the blood as had been assumed. Everything was all right after all.
If one word can make such a big difference, think of all of the words we speak and how they can influence or destroy, encourage or discourage, enlighten or confuse.
The lyrics to a popular Christian song called “Words” by
Hawk Nelson expresses what words can do.
They've made me feel like a prisoner
They've made me feel set free
They've made me feel like a criminal
Made me feel like a king
They've made me feel set free
They've made me feel like a criminal
Made me feel like a king
They've lifted my heart
To places I'd never been
And they've dragged me down
Back to where I began
Words can build you up
Words can break you down
Start a fire in your heart or
Put it out
Let my words be life
Let my words be truth
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to You.
If one word in a diagnosis can make such a difference I want
to commit to choosing my words carefully, just as the song says—I want my words
to point to Jesus by bringing life and truth. Don’t you? Let’s remember it
begins in the heart.
Psalm 19:14 May the words
of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
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