It was one of those long, challenging days at work again. After working a 12-hour shift, I only thought of a shower and my bed. But as the saying goes, “There is no rest for the weary.” It was my nephew’s 13th birthday, August 16th, and the family was doing a pre-birthday fun gathering celebration at my mom’s house. As a personal tradition, I like to call each family member on their birthday and sing a happy birthday song. For the most part, my meant-to-be funny facial expression and raspy voice on FaceTime never seemed to get the warm welcome as expected. Strange! So with all the background distractions, I decided to let go of the singing and stick to my day job of talking instead.
Besides, what better way to know the teenager than to converse? So I asked how he felt being 13. Funny, he said he felt older, mature, and excited to finally celebrate his birthday because August seemed to take forever to get here. Laughing at his expressions, I asked what he meant by feeling mature. Without hesitation, he said he’s been reflecting on his life and some things he wants to change. Uh, Teenagers! So I interjected and said I hope you are reflecting on changing your attitude because Aunty doesn’t particularly care for how withdrawn you act when upset about something. With a chuckle, he agreed and shocked me with his following response. He said he has been working on improving his vocabulary so he can better express himself less angrily. We talked briefly about some of the interesting, complicated words in the dictionary to pronounce.
Now you may ask why his comment is so shocking. Well, let’s dive a little deeper. With the many traditions we developed during the pandemic, our Sunday family bible study is still active and going strong by the grace of God. We’ve been faithfully gathering for over two years. God gets all the glory because consistency is not a strong practice in our family, especially having all the kids onboard. Over the two years, we have studied a lot of practical teachings from the word of God. For the past weeks, we’ve been learning an exciting lesson about “Mindful Communication.” One of the video clips I shared on “How to Master the Art of Effective Communication” references what my nephew was implying. In this clip, we learned that vocabulary is one tool we need to communicate effectively, and there is a relationship between vocabulary and behavior. “The more limited the vocabulary, the more tendency to poor behavior.”
Now, do you understand why my 13 years old nephew shocked me when he said he has been trying to improve his vocabulary? Most of the time, I thought he wasn’t paying attention or getting anything from the lessons, not knowing that God had been formulating truth in his heart. I don’t know what crossroad you may find yourself in or where you seek clarity because your reality isn’t adding up. If I may use this powerful analogy, my late father said, “Remember, a rock never breaks from the outside but from the inside out, so keep pounding.” Some things will never reflect an outward effect because the effect must first impact the inward result.
When it comes to learning about the impact having a limited vocabulary can have on behavior, remember, knowledge is power. The Bible says in Hosea 4:6, ” My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Never underestimate the power of God to bring clarity at the appointed time.