I’m just sayin
I said to someone the other day that,“I’m just fifty”
I didn’t laugh
I meant it in a positive way
Looking back it seems ridiculous
Fifty isn’t young
But, is it old?
I’m just not sure
I’m thinking that the words
“I’m just” are a lot like the words
“I am” without the determination or directness
I’m just
Tired
Bored
Restless
Worried
When you say, I am
It feels like certainty
I am loved
I am grateful
I am curious
I am ready
It’s semantics but what if it matters?
What if what we say and how we say it, really does make a difference?
I am well aware I can say something and it sounds vastly different than I intended
Or exactly as intended
It’s in the way I say it
There is a story in the Bible about a prophet named, Elijah
He’s been having a very rough time and is being chased by the king to be killed
He’s told to go to the mountains and God will pass by the mouth of a cave
He waits and a hurricane wind rips through and shatters the rocks
Then an earthquake comes
Then a fire happens and when he finally hears him, it’s in a gentle whisper
And he is asked, “What are you doing here?”
Seriously
That’s what he hears, in a whisper
Oprah says, that our life speaks to us in whispers
But listening for a whisper is hard
I’ve always been more of a loud talker
I’ve had the cops called to a friends house more than once from a neighbor complaining about my laugh
I’m not kidding
When I’m happy, you know it and apparently your neighbor will too
Many of you may not know, that when I got sick
I also lost my voice
The paralysis jumped from my stomach past my heart and lungs and took out my left vocal cord
It wouldn’t move at all and because it wouldn’t move
My right chord had nothing to hit against to make sound
I could only whisper, sort of
I eventually had surgery to put in an implant
So, now I’m loud again
But, what about the whispers?
What if we talked softly of our opinions and we let our love and laughter be loud
What would that look like in the
Media
Facebook
Families
Friends
We could use our I am’s for good
I am here for you
I am willing to listen
I am happy you are in my life
Even if it’s impossible, risky or pointless
In a whisper
I am saying
It might be worth a try