what do words even mean?

It is officially summer! We have 5 more weeks of camp and it is so weird! Young life was here for a month and they left on Sunday. It was sad to see them all leave. I really loved having the summer staff here this year. They were so much fun to be around. It feels like summer is just starting now and it's already halfway over. I must say it is bittersweet. The staff this summer has been phenomenal. We have gotten pretty close and it is a fun group of people!
As a staff we are going through the book Love Does by Bob Goff. (I mentioned this in the previous post) We have been having amazing discussions each week with the chapters. We read a chapter about words and how important words are to people. He told a story about how when he was growing up he was on a baseball team and was awful. One game he hit a home run and hit coach sent him a card at the end of the season saying how it was a great hit and he was a real ball player. Those words, he said, stuck with him.
I am learning more and more that I am like Peter in many ways. I have strongly identified with the story where Jesus calls him to walk on water and step out. Jesus called him "the rock" (no not like dwayne johnson) when Jesus knew Peter was going to deny him. Maybe, he was calling something out of Peter when he did that. I know for me if someone genuinely encourages me it makes me believe it, if only for a bit.
I can remember nice things that people have told me. I also remember the negative things. Sometimes the negative I remember even more. Its strange how much words can shape our lives. I also think that the words we say to ourselves are just as powerful. The things we tell ourselves over and over again become things that we believe. In the back of my head all mu life I have heard the words,"you are not good enough." After hearing it for so long...I started to believe it. Those words shaped how I viewed everything. t has been in the past few years I have been blessed with friends who have spoken encouragement into those lies and have helped me see that I am good enough. God speaks truth through His Word and through people around us. A simple, "God is going to do great things in your life." (by someone I really admire) has shaped how I feel about my future.
A simple encouraging word can shape a persons life forever. Who are you going to encourage today??