A woman named Julia went to the hospital for routine thyroid surgery. Unfortunately, as the surgeon was working, he severed one of her vocal cords with his scalpel. When she awoke from the anesthesia, Julia’s voice had been reduced to a painful whisper.

 

 

A year later, Julia found herself on an operating table once again. This time, a different doctor obtained a good result, and Julia regained her voice.

This doctor warned her, however, to take it easy for 10 days until he was sure her vocal cords were healed and her voice would stay strong; but Julia had other ideas. She decided that if there were any possibility her voice might disappear again, she was going to make the most of the time she had. So she started using her newfound voice as if there was no tomorrow.

She told her husband “I love you” 50 times a day. She told her kids how proud she was of them. She told knock-knock jokes, read bedtime stories, sang in the shower and laughed at every opportunity. And, she made sure every night to thank God for returning her voice – even if it was just temporary.

 

The good news is that Julia’s voice remains strong to this day.

The great thing (and often a challenging thing for me!) about being a mom or dad is that most of us, as parents, have voices that function well and are intended for lots and lots of “atta boys” and “atta girls” every day. At K-2 football, it is our well-intended goal to make sure that each player hears his name with something good attached to it 10 times every day! Wow, how it works with teenage athletes! I heard about a research study this week that determined boys (and men of any age) have a greater longing to hear the words “thank you” (providing feelings of appreciation), while girls and women have a greater longing to hear the words “I love you.”

We read in Proverbs 3:27, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.”

We’ve all read or heard about the five love languages and how people want to receive love in different ways. But let me tell you from experience, there’s no one who doesn’t like to hear words of love, affirmation and encouragement.

I speak to teenagers and college kids many, many times a year. Sadly, I can’t count how many times I’ve been told, “If only I could hear my father tell me just one time, ‘I love you.’”

Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

After 15 years of counseling, three marriage experts from Denver learned that the couple that gives five times as many words of encouragement to every one word of “coaching” or personal request has a 94% chance of a happy marriage. What works for spouses works even better for kids!