77. Story of “My Words”
A number of years ago, I worked with a pastor where mid-way through the week I would ask him what he was preaching about. He would give me a scripture and a general direction on where he was going. And I would create a song to go with the sermon.
We didn’t do it every week, but one week when I had some time, I tried to reach him and couldn’t. I checked with the church secretary and got the scripture and the sermon title and mulled it over. I wrote the song “My Words” and on Saturday called him and told him what I had done. I said, “Let me read these to you, and if they don’t fit, it’s o.k. because I have the song anyway and it will come in handy some time and some place.” I read the words over the phone to him and it was quiet. He didn’t respond for a few minutes and then finally said, “It’s uncanny. It fits.”
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My Words
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When the words come from my mouth,
They are let loose upon the air,
And they proclaim where I am standing,
They are my words. They are my words.
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And my voice is full of power,
My language moves from me to you,
These words can hurt or be the healing,
They are my words. They are my words.
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As I live, so shall I speak,
And as I speak, I am revealed,
The words are clear and pierce the shadows,
They are my words. They are my words.
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© Copyright 1981 by Ann Freeman Price
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Two learnings from this. One is that often I can rely on intuition. I can trust and at least part of the time it works out. The other is that I can pay attention to the poem itself for it speaks a wisdom that I forget sometimes when I let my words run amuck.
