(From my visit to Canterbury, England earlier this month)
We sat at a long wooden table at my friend Johnny’s dining room in Kent, England. Large glass doors open to his garden where he inadvertently shows off his green thumb. The garden is a firework of colors with hydrangeas and zinnias and flowers I do not know the names of. Earlier, I saw a fox scamper through that garden. It was only the second fox I have ever seen in my life. Johnny has prepared a delicious dinner of farm roots, broccoli and sausage, drizzled with a rich balsamic vinegar reduction. He has poured a Italian Primitivo so special, it elevates the entire moment.
Johnny is one of those people who exude goodness. He is hosting my eldest son and I for two days during our trip to England. He picked us up at the train station. He made us toasties as soon as we arrived so we wouldn’t spend money at the station. He has made us the fanciest flat whites on his gourmet espresso machine. It is the first good coffee I’ve had since I came to the country, and it will be the reason why my son has picked up drinking coffee now. We will wash our dirty clothes, have rich conversations and sleep soundly in the two guest rooms he has prepared for us.
But it isn’t just Johnny’s hosting skills that exude goodness, it is the way he speaks.
When he speaks of people he knows, he describes them as being GORGEOUS or BEAUTIFUL people. It isn’t that they are supermodels or should be on a film screen. He describes them as people, their desires, their hopes and dreams. He notices all that is good within them. He sees the Imago Dei, Image of God within them.
The thing about being around a person like Johnny who uses language lavishly, lovingly, is that you begin to see the world as he does. And when he looks at you or your son or even the person you once found annoying as heck and describes them as GORGEOUS, BEAUTIFUL and BRILLANT, you begin to see yourself, your son and that annoying person with potential and goodness. You begin to see as God sees you and want to live in that potential and abundance. You aspire to holiness.
The way Johnny uses language to affirm the goodness in the world reminds me of a scripture from Proverbs, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb; sweet to the soul, and healing to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24) Johnny’s use of language healed me.
I was tired, run down and in need of restoration. But in hearing stories of loveliness, sweetness, abundance and fortitude, I saw the world with fresh eyes. The world is bursting with promise.
Language holds power. It can drag us down, keep us in bondage and despair. Or it can show us the abundance and hope that floats in the very air we breathe.
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I’ll be leading a Creative Non-Fiction workshop at Grace College’s inaugural writers conference later this month! On Saturday, July 19, 11:00am-1:00pm I’ll be selling and signing my book Undaunted Joy: The Revolutionary Act of Cultivating Delight in the exhibit center. Come and visit if you live in the area!
Let me know if you’d like me to visit your church, school or bookclub. I am scheduling visits for the fall now.
Now I know how was Enland
All so very true and good.