Talk About Power! by Dayna Mazzuca

As writers, we know words have power. To heal, uplift and console. And they have power to belittle, tear down or even destroy. They have power to create a shared understanding between people, instill faith. And they have power to withhold or deceive, drive another person mad. Yes, words have POWER.

It’s hard to think of anything more powerful, that we all have at hand. We have the power to direct our words towards good or evil; and I’m not really sure there’s a neutral space between. Usually are words are doing someone good, or leaving them empty somehow. Really, our words have POWER.

At the drive-through in the morning commute, how I engage over the speaker makes a felt difference on the other end. I can sense it. See it in the person’s smile or frown. With my kids, words make a lot of difference. They set the tone for the day and determine how a problem is worked through. With my hubby, our words are felt in all their implications. They say, “It’s a good day, I love you,” or they say, “My day is really tough and you’re to blame…”. Yikes. Words have POWER.

But how do I handle this power? This incredible power to influence the lives of my family, my friends and every single person I interact with in a day?! How do I handle this power of words, as a writer who uses them every day with intention and every day often without intention? As writers we have POWER.

To be honest, I rarely think about this power. This influence. This incredible potential for good or ill. When I do have to CHOOSE MY WORDS, this is a signal to me that all might not be well in my own heart. That I might need a breather before I speak. It’s a reminder that I really do hold power to make someone else’s day a better one or a one a little worse for wear. Hmmm… how to handle POWER?

I mostly rely on having good things stored up. On being in the Word of God on a regular basis, for a window of time long before my household is awake. I find if I’m in the Word first thing, the rest of the day takes care of itself. And as the Bible says, I am able to bring out of my heart the good stored up there. And where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And when I am in the Word, my treasure is definitely on good relationships; on truth-telling; on speaking in love and walking in the light; day-in, day-out. Yes, I have POWER. But I know that I know GOD HAS SO MUCH MORE and is able to keep me close enough to his heart FOR GOOD that I actually have to work at it to do ill.

Yes, words have power. But it’s kind of like the water that pours out of well-fed source; it is power simply as a matter of course. I find when I am CLOSE TO THE SOURCE, I don’t really have to worry about the details, the potential for good or ill. I know GOD IS GOOD and as long as I stick close to him, spend time in the Word to the point that it fills me up, and allow his Spirit to move me throughout the day, I’m probably going to make out all right with ALL THOSE WORDS THAT HAVE POWER—power to move not only mountains, but the minds and hearts of people in our path. Every single day.

Dayna Mazzuca is a writer, speaker and poet working from home in Sylvan Lake. Her formal background is in Philosophy, Journalism and Spiritual Formation. These topics tend to overlap in her writings on the spiritual journey, her eight books of poetry and her online work. Her most recent project is an online course called “The Power of Authentic Storytelling” and can be found on her new site – www.daynamazzuca.com.