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This article is from Today's
Native Father, issue #135, September/October, 2004. Related articles from this issue: |
The Power of Words A letter to mothers by Rhoda Kakegamic |
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Dear Moms, Once in a while someone says something that flashes my mind back to when I was a child. It may be an innocent comment, but it brings to mind painful thoughts. There is an animal that I am not fond of today because I was called it when I was a child. Name-calling is one of the easiest ways to bully a person, to put down self-esteem. Anything that is different or not normal leaves a person open to attack. As a child, I did not walk like other people. Though I had two legs like everyone else, they didn’t walk as straight as they should. I used to walk and run like a fan that blows from side to side. I limped a lot because of being born with dislocated hips. I could run fast, but the faster I ran, the more noticeable my limp was. Operations to fix my hips helped only a little. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I finally stood level when my hips were both replaced. My children now call me the Bionic Woman. However, when I was young, the other kids thought my walk looked like the waddle of a duck. They laughed and thought it was funny. One of the ways I handled it was to laugh right along with them, even though at times I felt like crying. I knew that God made all creatures and that the duck is a good animal as a pet or as food. I tried to show them that the teasing did not bother me. Still, the memory of that teasing is not easy to forget, even as an adult. We women are the nurturers in the family. We want to protect our families. We don’t want them to hurt or be hurt. Yet the instrument we use as nurturers can be the very weapon that we use to hurt others. That is our tongue. James 3:5, 9-10 says, “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude (likeness) of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” Later in life, some people questioned my faith because my body was not healed. Some said that maybe I did not pray hard enough and that is why I wasn’t healed. Some people meant to be kind, but I felt shot down by their words. There is a lot of power in words. We can lift each other up or put each other down. Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” Remembering how I have been affected by words, I want my words to encourage everyone I meet, to put a smile on their face. It makes us both feel better. I want to follow the example of the writer in Psalm 19:14, who said, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord my strength and my redeemer.” Meegwetch, God bless you and yours today, Rhoda |
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